BPsIeIchj 

■      how  TO  USE  IT  H 

■hi  effectively  TI 

1|»_^    XANTHES 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNl 
AT    LOS  ANGELES 


SPEECH 

HOW  TO  USE  IT  EFFECTIVELY 


THE    TEN    TITLES    IN    THE 

MENTAL    EFFICIENCY    SERIES 

POISE:   HOW  TO  ATTAIN  IT 
CHAEACTER:   HOW  TO  STRENGTHEN  IT 

TIMIDITY:   HOW  TO  OVERCOME  IT 

Yoritomo-Tashi 
INFLUENCE:  HOW  TO  EXERT  IT 

Yoritomo-Tashi 
COMMON  SENSE:  HOW  TO  EXERCISE  IT 

Yoritomo-Tashi 
PRACTICALITY:   HOW  TO  ACQUIRE  IT 

R.    NiCOLLE 

OPPORTUNITIES:    HOW   TO   MAKE    THE 
MOST  OF  THEM 
L.  Charley 
PERSEVERANCE:    HOW  TO  DEVELOP  IT 

H.  Besser 
SPEECH:    HOW  TO  USE   IT 
EFFECTIVELY 
Xanthes 
PERSONALITY:   HOW  TO  BUILD  IT 
H.  Laurent 

<::> 

FUNK  &  WAGNALLS  COMPANY 
Puhlishers 

NEW  YORK  AND  LONDON 


MENTAL   EFFICIENCY  SERIES 

SPEECH 

HOW  TO  USE  IT  EFFECT- 
IVELY 

By  XANTHES 

Annotated    by   B.   Dangennes 

Mv.v: 


AUTHORIZED   EDITION 


Translated  by 
Mme.  Leon  J.  Beethelot  de  la  Boileveeie 


FUNK    &   WAGNALLS    COMPANY 

NEW    YOEK  LONDON 

1916 


•  ".   .    »  » 


•  ^       '   •   ■>   1   >•  J  • 

.    o  "     '_      ,'    » '  •     >  ',  J    • 


1  >       >  1 


Copyright,  1915,  bt 

FUNK  &  WAGNALLS  COMPANY 

[Printed  in  the  Utiitcd  States  of  America] 

All  rights  reserved 


CO 
CO 

CN! 


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?N 

ANNOUNCEMENT 

The  purpose  of  IVIr.  B.  Dangennes,  the  au- 
thor of  this  book,  is  to  present  to  those  of  his 
readers  who  need  a  guide  to  the  effective  use  of 
words  a  treatise  on  the  subject  which  may  serve 
to  teach  them  how  to  utilize  their  powers  of 
O  speech  most  impressively.     It  is  his  belief  that 

the  speaker  who  presents  what  he  has  to  say  in 
a  clear,  concise,  and  forceful  manner  is  he  who 
commands   attention.      In   support   of  this   be- 
lief,  and   for  the  purpose  of  aiding   all   who 
to         wish  to  acquire  the  art  of  speaking  incisively 
oi         and   convincingly,   he   expounds  the   teachings 
00        of  Xanthes — one  whom  he  describes  as   em- 
^        bodying  the  rare  qualities  of  a  keen  thinker 
and  close  observer  with  those  of  a  man  of  re- 
markable judgment.    As  he  develops  his  subject 
the  Author  of  this  treatise  bears  constantly  in 
mind  that  it  is  as  much  the  duty  of  an  orator 
to  please  his  audience  as  it  is  the  purpose  of  a 
business  man  to  convince  his.     It  lies  in   the 
power  of  both  to  satisfy — gaining  attention  by 
sublimity  of  thought  and  elegance  of  expres- 

iii 


UJ 


iv  ANNOUNCEMENT 

sion,  and  carrying  conviction  by  personal  mag- 
netism and  that  effervescence  of  the  heart  which 
is  the  natural  stimulus  of  the  enthusiast.  Fol- 
lowing the  dictum  of  Seneca,  we  must  feel  what 
we  speak  before  we  can  speak  what  we  feel.  , 
It  was  Dean  Swift,  the  inimitable  creator 
of  the  Land  of  Lilliput  and  the  Travels  of 
Gulliver,  who  told  us  that  of  all  animals  the 
chameleon,  which  is  said  to  feed  upon  air — 
hot  air,  of  course — has  the  nimblest  tongue. 
But  Franciscus  Junius  marveled  at  the  truly 
astonishing  activity  of  the  human  organ  of 
speech.  Said  he,  "The  rapid  flash  of  the  eye 
can  not  be  compared  with  it;  the  hand,  the 
foot,  the  eye,  and  the  ear  become  wearied  by 
continual  action,  and  require  rest  to  recover 
their  exhausted  energies;  but  the  tongue  never 
falters  or  faints  from  the  longest  exertion." 
And  it  is  in  the  use  to  which  we  put  the  tongue 
that  we  are  distinguished  from  other  living 
creatures.  Plutarch  reminds  us  that  talkative 
people  who  wish  to  be  loved  are  hated.  When 
they  desire  to  please,  they  bore;  when  they 
think  they  are  admired,  they  are  laughed  at. 
They  injure  their  friends,  benefit  their  ene- 
mies, and  do  incalculable  harm  to  themselves. 
These  should  remember  the  wisdom   of  Solo- 


ANNOUNCEMENT  v 

MON — There  is  a  time  to  speak  and  a  time  to  be 
silent.  ''Learn  to  hold  thy  tongue,"  said  that 
famous  old  exhorter  Bishop  Fuller,  and  con- 
tinued, ' '  Five  words  cost  Zacharias  forty  weeks 
of  silence,"  In  speech  our  aim  should  be  to 
show  more  wit  than  words.  "Such  as  thy 
words  are  so  will  thine  affections  be  esteemed ; 
such  as  thine  affections  will  thy  deeds  be  also; 
and  such  as  thy  deeds  so  will  be  thy  life,"  said 
Socrates. 

In  the  course  of  the  twelve  lectures  of  which 
this  book  is  comprized  the  Author  treats  of 
words  as  the  mosaics  of  language.  He  discusses 
the  art  of  always  using  the  right  word  in  the 
right  place,  and  urges  the  scientific  study  of 
words.  Next  he  treats  of  the  relation  of  speech 
to  ideas,  urges  the  classification  of  thought,  and 
compares  the  dominant  idea  with  the  thread  on 
which  beautiful  beads  are  strung  into  a  neck- 
lace. To  be  effective  they  must  be  presented 
in  logical  order.  Then  follow  chapters  on  the 
art  of  enriching  one's  vocabulary ;  on  eloquence ; 
on  oratorical  debates  and  conversation ;  on  how 
to  master  the  art  of  speaking  in  public;  on 
automatism  and  thought;  on  attitude  and  ges- 
ture; on  speech  as  used  in  business  and  family 
life ;  on  the  power  of  the  voice  over  the  feelings. 


Ti  ANNOUNCEMENT 

and  on  many  other  allied  subjects,  such  as  the 
development  of  the  voice,  vocal  changes,  breath- 
ing exercises,  gestures,  and  attitude,  etc. 

Speech  is  considered  as  the  determining  ele- 
ment of  every  human  act,  and  as  such  the 
Author  aims  to  teach  the  Reader  how  to  make 
the  most  of  it. 

The  Publishers. 


PREFACE 

It  was  long  before  the  days  when  Aristotle 
taught  his  philosophy  beneath  the  porch  of  the 
Lyceum — awakening  thoughts  which,  called 
forth  by  the  magic  power  -of  words,  were 
changed  into  living  pictures — that  oratory  was 
the  tie  which  bound  souls  together. 

Centuries  have  fallen  into  the  vortex  of  eter- 
rdty,  but  the  art  of  governing,  either  the  State 
or  the  individual,  has  developed  a  necessity  for 
eloquence,  by  creating  the  need  for  the  exist- 
ence of  conviction. 

It  is  also,  with  deep  interest,  that  we  have 
received  the  translation  of  the  works  of  an 
eloquent  speaker,  whose  name  was  as  yet  un- 
known to  us,  for  he  was  a  man  who  lived  alone, 
and  a  thinker  rather  than  a  popular  orator. 

The  understanding  which  was  inspired  in  him 
by  the  lessons  that  he  received  from  all  the  con- 
stellation of  great  Greek  orators,  whose  glory 
still  illuminated  his  epoch,  influenced  him  in  the 
art  of  formulating  his  thoughts  as  well  as  in 
his  expression  of  them. 

vii 


viii  PREFACE 

Looking  over  his  writings,  one  shall  find  valu- 
able information,  new  points  of  view,  and  above 
all  an  exactness  of  judgment  most  remarkable. 

He  teaches  us  to  win  consideration  by  the 
prestige  of  speech,  affording  us  at  the  same  time 
the  means  of  cultivating  this  priceless  gift: 
eloquence. 

At  present,  the  number  of  public  speakers  in- 
creases daily,  for  by  this  means  they  are  able  to 
defend  their  interests  and  justify  their  con- 
victions. 

The  complex  industrial  organizations,  the 
unions,  becoming  more  and  more  important,  the 
syndicates,  and  even  the  ordinary  state  deputa- 
tions, all  are  seeking  orators  whose  eloquence 
will  be  sufficiently  persuasive  to  present  advan- 
tageously their  claims  and  to  set  forth  the  im- 
portance of  their  rights. 

Every  day  reunions  are  taking  place  in  which 
each  person  interested  is  allowed  to  offer  his 
opinion  or  to  explain  principles  referring  to  the 
general  welfare  of  the  people  or  to  an  individual 
claim. 

Lectures  are  becoming  more  and  more  fre- 
quent. As  in  the  olden  days,  those  who  cherish 
an  idea  are  happy  to  have  it  appreciated  by 
others  and  they  understand  that  the  most  effi- 


PREFACE  ix 

cacious  way  to  accomplish  their  desire  is  to  in- 
vite the  public  to  listen  to  the  development  of 
the  subject. 

But  nothing  is  more  disastrous  than  an  idea 
which  is  inadequately  defended,  unless  it  be  a 
rightful  claim,  inexactly  stated. 

It  has  also  seemed  to  us  most  interesting  to 
expound  the  principles  of  Xanthes,  which  were 
inspired  by  the  orations  delivered  by  the  ancient 
philosopher,  on  the  banks  of  the  Ilissus,  and  also 
by  the  teachings  of  those  who  made  this  period 
famous,  for  these  principles  initiate  us  into  the 
exquisite  delicacy  of  that  art  which  was  glorified 
and  immortalized  by  the  ancient  Greeks. 

B.  Dangennes. 


CONTENTS 

LESSON  PAGE 

Announcement iii 

Preface vii 

I.  "Words  and  Language 13 

II.  The  Spoken  Word  and  the  Thought  .  27 

III.  Sword   or   Shield 41 

IV.  "Wealth  of  Eloquence  and  Opulence 

of  "Wit 57 

V.  Of   Eloquence •     .     71 

"VI.  Oratorical    Rivalry    and    Conversa- 
tion         89 

"VII.  How  to  Acquire  the  Art  of  Speaking  107 
"VIII.  Automatism    and    Thought    .      .      .   122 
IX.  Attitude     and    Gesture    in     Speech 

Delivery 138 

X.  Speech    as    Used    in    Business    and 

Family   Life 156 

XI.  Speech  and   Instruction    ....  167 
XII.  The  Power  of  the  "Voice  Over  the 

Feelings 176 

zi 


LESSON   I 

WORDS    AND   LANGUAGE 

"Words  are  sounds,  combined  with  divers 
vibrations  of  articulation,  whose  association  pro- 
duces in  our  mind,  by  force  of  habit,  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  object  which  is  designated  by 
them  or  of  the  sentiment  which  they  are  intended 
to  express. 

This  representation  is  thus  more  or  less  exact, 
according  to  the  nature  of  the  word  which  re- 
calls it. 

Certain  words  only  awaken  a  confused  re- 
flection, little  calculated  to  impress  itself  upon 
the  mind. 

Others,  on  the  contrary,  are  veritable  torches, 
illuminating  with  a  vivid  light  the  subject  which 
they  are  ordered  to  present  to  our  imagination. 

"In  the  beginning  of  the  world,"  says 
Xanthes,  "primitive  man  was  contented  to 
imitate  the  language  of  the  animals. 

"This  observation  furnished  them  with  a 
considerable  number  of  imitative  words,  which, 
in  time,  were  changed  into  syllables. 

13 


14.  SPEECH 

"The  needs  of  existence,  then  very  limited 
and  always  the  same  for  every  one,  insured  the 
repetition  of  these  syllables,  which  very  soon  be- 
came for  men  of  the  same  race  the  distinctive 
mark  of  their  special  affinities. 

''These  same  sounds  were  used  to  designate 
the  same  objects,  and  this  effort  was  the  first 
manifestation  of  the  union  of  mental  and  mate- 
rial life. 

"Later,  the  necessities  of  existence  were  in- 
creased and  the  field  of  imagination  was  en- 
larged ;  man  was  no  longer  contented  to  imitate 
the  sounds  which  the  animals  produced. 

"The  sound  of  the  waters,  that  of  the  wind, 
the  murmur  of  the  brooklets,  the  rumbling  of 
the  thunder,  in  a  word,  all  the  impressions  which 
came  to  them  from  without  were  unconsciously 
received  and  imitated  by  them. 

"In  time,  these  inarticulate  cries,  these  dis- 
jointed syllables  were  either  united  or  separated 
in  various  ways,  so  as  to  form  a  variety  of 
syllables  better  adapted  to  the  mentality  just 
coming  into  existence,  and  rendered  this  union 
or  separation  absolutely  necessary. 

"Words  were  thus  created. 

"These  primitive  elements  of  language  be- 
came little  by  little  the  gestures  of  sensibility. 


WORDS    AND    LANGUAGE  15 

"Men  who  had  at  first  found  only  cries  to 
express  needs  essentially  material  came  to 
realize  the  necessity  of  interpreting  their  sen- 
sations. 

* '  This  interpretation  confined  itself  at  first  to 
purely  physical  impressions. 

' '  Suffering,  well-being,  were  the  first  themes. 

"And  then  the  day  came  when  the  need  of 
sympathy,  which  reigns  in  the  heart  of  all  men, 
took  possession  of  our  far-away  ancestors. 

"To  experience  joy  or  to  suffer  pain  did  not 
suffice  them. 

* '  They  wished  that  this  grief  might  be  attenu- 
ated or  that  this  joy  might  be  increased  by  the 
sorrow  or  the  joy  of  others. 

"We  must  understand  that  this  sensation  was 
at  first  very  vague,  for  the  need  of  sympathy 
and  of  consolation  can  only  be  awakened  in  the 
soul  of  those  who  can  think. 

"The  instinct  of  primitive  man,  on  the  con- 
trary, was  that  which  urges  the  wild  animals 
to  seek  for  the  solitude,  where  they  may  die 
alone,  and  which  incites  them  to  hide  their 
agony  from  the  world. 

"But  separating  himself  farther  and  farther 
from  the  animal,  man  conceived  the  desire  for 
a  sympathetic  environment    and    he    invented 

IX. 2 


16  SPEECH 

words  to  express  his  grief,  in  order  not  to  be 
alone  in  the  realization  of  it. 

"An  undefined  need  of  sympathy  and  pro- 
tection was  being  born  in  his  heart, 

"For  similar  reasons,  he  sought  to  have  his 
companions  share  in  the  joy  which  he  felt,  and, 
little  by  little,  the  words  multiplied  under  his 
tongue,  became  more  agile,  in  proportion  as  it 
was  better  and  more  frequently  exercised." 

This  opinion,  which  Xanthes  holds  in  common 
with  the  most  celebrated  sociologists,  is  con- 
firmed by  many  observations,  which  it  is  possible 
for  each  one  of  us  to  make  at  his  pleasure. 

We  are  more  inclined  to  believe  that  it  was 
true  that  prehistoric  man  imitated  animals  when 
we  analyze  the  violent  emotions  which  are  com- 
mon to  both,  and  when  we  find  an  absolute  simi- 
larity of  manifestation. 

Fear  calls  forth  a  cry — nothing  more. 

Violent  pain  makes  us  groan,  without  the 
sounds  emitted  being  articulated  in  syllables. 

Impatience  or  anger  impels  us  to  allow  un- 
conscious grumbling  to  escape  from  us. 

In  a  word,  all  expression  of  excessive  emotion, 
even  in  the  ultra-civilized,  resembles  the  mani- 
festation of  these  same  violent  sensations  among 
the  animals. 


WORDS    AND    LANGUAGE  17 

More  than  this,  the  spoken  word  is  indeed  the 
expression  of  a  longing  for  sympathy,  since  we 
do  not  use  it  in  solitude.  It  is  well  understood 
that  it  is  not  a  question  here  of  people  with  un- 
balanced minds  who,  in  order  to  strengthen 
their  thought,  and  to  formulate  it  in  words,  ut- 
ter it  aloud. 

Language  is  the  association  of  these  words, 
united  in  order  to  form  a  collection  of  pictures, 
whose  cohesion,  more  or  less  perfect,  strengthens 
or  weakens  the  force  of  the  representative 
figures. 

"One  day,"  says  Xanthes,  "a  man  went  to 
call  on  Plato  and  asked  him  what  was  the  differ- 
ence existing  between  words  and  language. 

"The  philosopher,  without  replying,  pointed 
with  his  finger  to  a  plaque  hung  on  the  wall 
representing  a  goddess  with  her  attributes. 

"Then,  rising,  he  went  toward  a  large  vase 
filled  with  colored  stones  and,  picking  them  up 
in  handfuls,  let  them  fall  through  his  fingers  in 
iridescent  cascades. 

"  'These,'  said  he,  'are  the  words  or  the  mate- 
rials. ' 

"  'And  here  is  the  language,'  added  he,  show- 
ing the  plaque,  which  was  nothing  more  than  a 
mosaic  of  a  most  delicate  workmanship. 


18  SPEECH 

"  'These  stones,'  continued  the  philosopher, 
'are  only  the  elements  indispensable  to  the  com- 
pletion of  a  picture  like  the  present  one. 

"  'They  are  to  the  reproduction  of  a  face 
what  words  are  to  the  oration, 

"  'Taken  separately,  they  present  only  a 
minor  interest ;  when  the  eye  observes  their  color 
and  their  form,  and  this  observation  is  allowed 
to  be  registered  as  thought,  the  part  played  by 
the  stones  is  finished;  one  has  scarcely  time  to 
enjoy  their  variegated  scintillations  for  more 
than  a  moment. 

"  'If,  however,  they  are  combined  by  a 
skilled  artist,  they  can  produce  a  masterpiece. 

"  'Manipulated  by  an  unskilful  hand,  they 
will  form  only  a  combination  without  meaning. 

"  'If  placed  side  by  side  by  a  child  they  will 
represent  a  naive  and  confused  picture. 

' '  '  Distributed  by  an  artist  whose  taste  is  ques- 
tionable, their  colors  will  be  mutually  repellent, 
instead  of  blending  in  one  harmonious  whole. 

"  'The  same  is  true  of  words. 

"  '  If  these  scattered  stones  can  become  a  work 
which  will  be  passed  down  to  posterity,  words 
cleverly  grouped  and  chosen  by  a  talented  ora- 
tor will  produce  orations  which  will  be  known 
and  appreciated  by  future  generations.'  " 


WORDS    AND    LANGUAGE  19 

And  Xantlies  adds: 

"There  is  still  another  point  of  comparison 
between  the  words  eind  these  stones: 

"According  to  the  fancy  of  the  artist,  these 
scintillations  from  the  stone  can  produce  forms 
which  recall  beauty  or  imperfection,  flowers  or 
monsters,  a  clear  sky  or  a  forest  of  trees  bent 
over  nearly  to  the  ground  by  the  ravages  of  a 
violent  storm. 

"Words — they  also  are  called  upon  to  repre- 
sent different  sentiments,  according  to  the 
manner  in  which  they  are  used, 

"These  words  are  to  language  what  the  tiny 
minerals  are  to  the  artist's  production,  and 
oftentimes  the  whole  success  of  an  orator  de- 
pends, not  so  much  upon  the  words  which  he 
uses,  as  on  the  manner  in  which  he  employs 
them." 

It  is  an  error  to  endeavor  to  find  a  natural 
relation  between  words  and  things. 

It  is  certain  that  each  race  of  people  has  con- 
stituted a  vocabulary  according  to  its  concep- 
tion of  sound,  which  has  some  analogy  with 
harmonious  imitation,  but,  most  of  the  time, 
there  only  exists  an  evanescent  relation  between 
the  articulated  sound  and  the  idea  which  it  re- 
presents. 


20  SPEECH 

If  it  were  otherwise,  there  would  be  only  one 
language,  which  would  be  universal. 

The  signification  of  words  is,  therefore,  always 
arbitrary. 

"Similarity,  indicated  at  first  by  general 
terms,"  said  Xanthes,  "little  by  little  became 
defined  by  special  terms,  defining  not  only  the 
species,  but  each  individual  of  the  species, 

"However,  the  fact  of  designating  a  thing  by 
the  term  which  characterizes  a  class  of  things, 
to  which  many  individuals  equally  belong,  al- 
ways indicates  ignorance  or  great  mental  sim- 
plicity. 

"There  are  also  many  definitions  for  each 
species,  as  there  are  many  words  to  express  a 
sentiment. 

"There  are  also  certain  words  which  can  be 
qualified  as  possessing  the  power  of  reinforce- 
ment, for  they  permit  of  employing  different  ex- 
pressions, whose  enunciation  renders  more  dis- 
tinct the  picture  that  we  wish  to  image. 

' '  It  does  not  suffice  that  an  orator  should  have 
an  exact  conception  of  his  subjects ;  he  must  be 
able  to  make  it  tangible  to  his  hearers. 

"To  understand  and  to  see  distinctly  is  well, 
but  it  is  not  all ;  we  must  present  the  subject  of 
our  observations  by  description  in  such  a  manner 


WORDS    AND    LANGUAGE  21 

that  those  who  listen  to  us  participate  in  the  in- 
spired revelation. 

* '  Too  many  orators  are  like  a  man  who  would 
gesticulate  in  absolute  darkness  and  then  be  as- 
tonished that  his  gestures  were  not  perceived. 

"Before  attempting  to  call  forth  in  others  the 
contemplation  of  that  which  pleases  us,  we  must 
surround  with  light  that  which  we  want  to  have 
them  admire. 

''And  light,  for  an  orator,  consists  first  in  the 
choice  of  words. 

* '  These  words  should  be  exactly  adapted  to  the 
nature  of  the  object  in  question. 

"The  search  for  the  expression  is  of  para- 
mount importance  for  the  quality  of  the  speech. ' ' 

And  now  Xanthes  gives  us  the  following 
typical  commentaries: 

"There  are,"  he  says,  "pompous  words,  which 
seem  to  wear  a  mantle  of  royal  purple. 

"Others,  clanking  metallic  sounds,  seem  to  us 
as  marching  warriors  clad  in  full  armor. 

"There  are  those  which  are  furnished  with  a 
two-edged  blade. 

' '  A  few  form  the  drapery  which  poetry  throws 
over  the  crudities  of  sentiment. 

"Certain  words  awaken  visions  of  purity; 
others  depict  struggle  and  bitterness. 


22  SPEECH 

"There  are  those  which  flash  like  lightning, 
diffusing  the  light  of  which  they  are  made  all 
around  them. 

"But,  in  order  that  each  one  of  these  words 
should  produce  the  intended  effect  on  the  minds 
of  the  hearers,  it  is  indispensable  that  they 
should  be  placed  where  they  belong,  and  should 
be  given  their  full  value  by  surrounding  them 
with  words  less  important,  whose  mission  is  to 
sustain  and  to  strengthen  them. 

"At  times  they  should  also  be  prepared. 

"At  others,  on  the  contrary,  it  is  necessary 
that  they  should  burst  forth  with  a  jet  of  flame, 
without  the  possibility  of  their  having  been 
foreseen. 

"It  is  also  well  to  conceal  them  under  the 
cover  of  other  words  less  significant,  as  a  sov- 
ereign might  hide  his  brilliant  robe  under  the 
humble  toga  of  the  philosopher, 

"Certain  satirical  words  should  give  the  im- 
pression of  blows  from  a  whip,  while  words  of 
indulgence  will  flow  as  from  a  spring  of  benevo- 
lence. 

"All  the  science  of  language  is  found  in  this," 
concluded  the  philosopher;  "words  taken  sep- 
arately have  little  significance,  but  the  grouping 
of  them  makes  a  whole  formidable  or  graceful, 


WORDS    AND    LANGUAGE  23 

terrible  or  salutary,  severe  or  tender,  according 
to  the  mosaic  of  the  oration." 

These  precepts,  which  in  our  day,  could  serve 
as  examples  to  orators  and  lecturers,  Xanthes  is 
going  to  develop  for  us  in  the  following  chap- 
ters. 

We  have  confined  ourselves  thus  far  to  the 
grouping  of  the  values  which  relate  to  words 
alone ;  that  is  to  say,  to  the  elements  constituting 
language. 

One  is  too  much  inclined  to  confound  these 
two  appellations. 

Thus,  as  Xanthes  teaches  us,  they  represent 
two  things  absolutely  distinct. 

We  are  side  by  side  with  people  every  day 
who  cultivate  purity  of  language,  without  for 
that  reason  possessing  the  science  of  speaking. 

It  is  a  gift,  say  indolent  people.  And  this 
statement  seems  to  them  sufficient  to  free  them 
from  the  work  of  research  which  their  indolence 
repels  with  horror. 

Sometimes  it  is  really  a  gift,  but  most  of  the 
time  it  is  a  result,  obtained  after  a  series  of 
studies  rigorously  reflective  and  analytical. 

As  to  those  who  possess  the  art  of  speaking 
and  disdain  delicacy  of  language,  it  is  not  pos- 
sible to  criticize  them  severely  enough,  for  their 


M  SPEECH 

defect  comes  neither  from  voluntary  ignorance 
nor  from  the  insufficiency  of  means;  it  takes 
shelter  in  mental  inertness,  which  becomes  a 
lack  of  vital  energy  and,  if  one  does  not  react, 
degenerates  quickly  into  an  habitual  atrophy  of 
the  will. 

"Language,"  Xanthes  says  a  little  farther 
on,  "may  be  compared  to  a  beautiful  tree,  whose 
leaves  are  the  spoken  words  which  we  have  de- 
signated under  the  title  of  supports  or  aux- 
iliaries. 

"Its  flowers  are  the  words  that  we  have  des- 
cribed and  which,  luminous  already  of  them- 
selves, will  borrow  a  special  beauty  from  their 
environment. 

"The  branches  of  this  tree  personify  senti- 
ments. 

"The  trunk  is  the  powerful  thought,  generator 
of  interior  movements. 

"Finally,  the  roots  represent  the  idea,  ex- 
tracting its  substance  from  the  depths  of  the 
soul,  which  in  the  form  of  a  sap  nourishes  and 
strengthens  all  other  parts." 

And  the  philosopher  adds  judiciously: 

' '  If  the  flowers  are  not  atrophied,  and  if  they 
have  not  been  allowed  to  become  too  numerous, 
they  wiU  produce  magnificent  fruits. 


WORDS    AND    LANGUAGE  25 

"But  the  majority  of  orations  are  like  this 
symbolical  tree;  the  profusion  of  flowers  often 
impairs  the  quality  of  its  fruit,  which  can  only 
ripen  if  care  has  been  taken  to  prune  the 
branches  when  half-dead  and  to  remove  the 
sterile  flowers  which  otherwise  would  absorb  a 
part  of  the  sap,  to  the  detriment  of  the  vigorous 
living  branches." 

In  reading  this  understanding  of  the  philoso- 
pher one  can  not  help  smiling,  as  one  thinks 
of  the  flowery  rhetoric  with  which  many 
pedants  like  to  overburden  their  orations,  and, 
in  spite  of  oneself,  one  admits  that  the  recom- 
mendations of  Xanthes  could  be  the  subject  of 
much  useful  advice  concerning  our  contem- 
poraries. 

Too  much  embellishment  is  always  an  obstacle 
to  a  proper  estimate  of  the  value  of  these  acces- 
sories to  a  composition ;  the  repetition  of  meta- 
phors, by  creating  a  great  mental  tension,  causes 
instant  weariness  in  the  audience.  In  the  midst 
of  such  rich  flowering,  the  mind  can  hardly 
make  a  choice. 

Scarcely  does  it  believe  its  choice  definitely 
established,  when  it  finds  itself  attracted  by  the 
appearance  of  another  object  none  the  less  bril- 
liant. 


26  SPEECH 

This  opulence  bewilders  it,  makes  it  hesitate, 
and  its  attention  finds  itself  drifting  in  the 
direction  of  a  medley  of  things,  which  repre- 
sents to  it  only  a  confused  picture. 

Let  us  add,  in  order  to  follow  the  comparison 
of  Xanthes  to  its  ultimate  conclusion,  that, 
among  these  many  flowers  the  majority  are 
sterile  and  leave  no  trace  of  their  blooming. 

We  must  conclude  with  the  ancient  orator : 

* '  The  orations  which  bear  no  fruit  only  repre- 
sent, both  for  the  orator  and  for  his  audience,  a 
useless  waste  of  the  minutes,  only  too  few,  of 
which  life  is  made  up.'* 


LESSON   II 

THE   SPOKEN   WORD    AND   THE 
THOUGHT 

In  order  to  make  others  understand  us,  we 
must  first  understand  ourselves. 

In  the  symbolical  tree  of  which  Xanthes  has 
been  speaking  in  the  preceding  chapter,  we  have 
seen  that  the  idea  was  the  origin  of  all  develop- 
ment and  that  it  alone  fed  the  different  parts  of 
the  tree  of  which  the  flowers  were  destined  to 
produce  the  fruit  of  science. 

"At  the  base  of  all  discourse,"  says  the  old 
orator,  ''there  is  the  idea,  without  which  the 
spoken  word  would  be  only  a  useless  noise. 

"The  idea  precedes  the  thought,  which  is  the 
sequence  consistent  with  its  analysis." 

This  includes  many  phases  whose  gradation 
we  shall  now  follow  with  the  philosopher. 

"The  idea,"  he  says,  "is  presented  to  us  at 
first  in  the  form  of  perception. 

"It  acts  upon  the  receptive  faculties  of  our 
brain,  before  appealing  to  our  understanding. 

"This  first  period  is  that  of  emission. 

27 


28  SPEECH 

"We  emit  an  idea  before  thinking  about  what 
it  is  worth. 

"At  times  it  is  so  worthless  or  so  denuded  of 
common  sense  that  we  unconsciously  reject  it 
before  it  has  had  time  to  impress  itself  on  the 
mind. 

"At  other  times  it  is  presented  under  a  form 
which  merits  being  fertilized. 

""We  ought,  therefore,  to  oblige  ourselves  ta 
consider  it  from  the  angle  from  which  it  ap- 
peared to  us  at  first,  by  isolating  it  from  all  the 
parasitic  ideas  which  do  not  fail  to  graft  them- 
selves on  it. 

"If  the  idea,  thus  confusedly  perceived,  be- 
longs to  the  domain  of  things  possible  of  realiza- 
tion, it  will  then  be  time  to  consider  it  from 
that  point  of  view  which  will  permit  its  perfect 
development. 

"In  order  to  accomplish  the  productive  con- 
templation of  an  idea,  it  is  indispensable  that  we 
should  be  impregnated  with  many  kinds  of 
knowledge. 

"(1)     That  of  its  substance; 

"(2)     Of  its  form; 

"  (3)     Of  its  essence; 

"  (4)     The  cause  for  which  it  was  created; 

"(5)     The  final  cause. 


SPOKEN    WORD    AND    THOUGHT    29 

"By  tlie  word  substance  is  to  be  understood 
the  matter  of  which  the  idea  is  made. 

''The  idea  can  refer  to  an  object,  to  a  person, 
or  to  subjects  belonging  to  the  animal,  vege- 
table, or  mineral  kingdom,  etc.,  etc. 

"It  is,  therefore,  necessary  from  the  first  to 
be  well  imbued  with  the  substance  of  the  idea,  in 
order  to  eliminate  all  thoughts  which  may  dis- 
tract our  attention  and  cause  it  to  diverge  to- 
ward analogous  subjects. 

"The  substance  once  properly  defined,  it  will 
be  in  order  to  think  out  the  form  of  the  object 
which  has  aroussd  in  our  mind  a  feeling  of 
perception. 

"An  energetic  appeal  to  our  recollections  will 
be  necessary  in  order  to  define  the  group  to 
which  this  sentiment  belongs  and  to  determine 
afterward  the  difference  existing  between  it  and 
perceptions  of  the  same  order. 

* '  A  similar  mental  operation  will  be  necessary 
for  that  which  concerns  the  essence. 

"It  may  happen  that  two  subjects  of  the  same 
form  are  of  dissimilar  essence,  or  perhaps  of  the 
same  essence,  their  form  and  their  dimensions 
presenting  a  certain  diversity. 

"It  will  afterward  be  necessary  to  establish 
the  cause  which  has  produced  the  idea. 


30  SPEECH 

"Lastly,  one  should  delay  the  unfolding  of  the 
final  cause,  that  is  to  say,  the  purpose  toward 
which  the  idea  is  directed." 

And,  joining  the  example  to  the  demonstra- 
tion, Xanthes  continues: 

"We  shall  suppose  for  a  moment  that  an 
orator  undertakes  to  pronounce  an  oration  to 
celebrate  the  virtues  of  a  great  man. 

"The  idea  is  presented  under  the  initial  as- 
pect: 

' '  Substance. 

' '  The  substance  is  that  of  a  living  being. 

' '  The  form :  this  living  being  is  a  man. 

"The  essence:  this  man  was  a  Sage,  or  a 
valorous  captain,  a  remarkable  legislator,  or  a 
celebrated  orator. 

"The  cause  having  produced  the  idea  which 
has  carried  to  the  mind  the  present  representa- 
tion is  the  renown  that  this  man  has  known  how 
to  acquire. 

"The  final  cause  is  the  desire  to  proclaim  his 
virtues,  by  inciting  his  audience  to  imitate  him. 

"The  final  cause  is  sometimes  mistaken  for 
the  initial  cause,  as  the  initial  cause  is  the  one 
whose  purpose  produces  the  movements  deter- 
mined by  the  mental  operation. 

"It  is  in  reality  the  desire  which  one  ex- 


SPOKEN    WORD    AND    THOUGHT    31 

periences  to  cause  others  to  share  the  admira- 
tion which  we  feel  for  the  great  man,  which  has 
produced  the  resolve  to  celebrate  his  virtues; 
but  here  ends  the  part  to  be  played  by  the 
initial  cause. 

''This  produces  the  movement  which  should 
lead  to  the  desired  end,  but  it  stops  before  ac- 
complishment in  order  to  make  room  for  the 
final  cause  which  is  the  resolution  of  the  achieve- 
ment. 

"This  mental  operation  can  be  attached  to 
the  study  of  that  which  is  called:  the  simple 
idea. 

"Ideas  are  simple,  when  they  are  relative  to 
one  perception  alone  and  when  they  do  not 
awaken  the  necessary  manifestation  of  corollary 
or  divergent  ideas. 

"One  is  apt  to  consider  as  simple  ideas  those 
which  form  a  part  of  a  group  so  bound  together 
that  there  exists  little  difference  between  them. '  * 

We  are  now  going  to  listen  to  Xanthes  as  he 
speaks  to  us  of  the  manner  in  which  we  ought  to 
use  our  intelligence  in  order  to  attain  the  object 
which  all  serious  orators  pursue — that  of  in- 
fluencing those  who  listen  to  them. 

"That  we  may  find  the  words  which  move 
them,    one   must    first,"    says   he,    "allow   the 

JX.3 


32  SPEECH 

thought  to  acquire  absolute    precision,    which 
contemplation  alone  is  able  to  give  us. 

"It  is  a  question,  therefore,  of  forcing  the 
projection  of  thoughts  to  illuminate  the  idea 
that  we  wish  to  consider. 

''From  every  point  of  view,  it  is  wise  to, 
reject  thoughts  already  enunciated  and  dis- 
cust  many  times;  we  can  not  sufficiently  en- 
large the  field  of  our  observations. 

"To  give  birth  to  a  new  idea,  if  it  be  within 
the  domain  of  common  sense,  and  can  endure 
discussion,  should  be  the  ambition  of  the  ma- 
jority of  orators. 

"However,  we  must  not  forget  that  this  idea 
can  only  have  its  whole  value  when  it  is  sepa- 
rated from  the  mass  of  divergent  thoughts  which 
will  not  fail  to  weaken  its  superiority." 

But  Xanthes  does  not  pretend  to  impose  the 
idea  upon  us  and  consequently  does  not  advise  us 
to  imbue  ourselves  with  an  atmosphere  whose 
uniformity  would  not  take  long  to  produce  the 
phenomenon  known  by  the  name  of  obsession. 

He  only  advises  us  to  mistrust  the  chain  of 
ideas  which,  by  a  transmission  scarcely  per- 
ceptible, leads  us  very  far  from  the  subject  of 
our  meditation. 

Again,  he  counsels  us  that,  even  while  con- 


SPOKEN    WORD    AND    THOUGHT    33 

templating  the  initial  idea,  we  should  consider 
attentively  all  the  corollary  thoughts  which,  far 
from  turning  us  away  from  the  initial  one,  will 
act  in  a  salutary  way  on  our  thought,  which  they 
will  magnetize  and  direct  in  the  most  admirable 
way. 

He  says  that  giving  strict  attention  to  the 
perfect  analysis  of  the  idea  will  determine  far 
better  than  long  study  the  all-powerful  laws  of 
persuasion. 

However,  in  order  to  avoid  the  danger  of  con- 
fusion which  corollary  ideas  always  present  for 
him  who  does  not  know  how  to  discipline  them 
rigorously,  it  is  well  to  divide  them  into  groups. 

"The  principle  idea  might  be  compared  to 
the  head  of  a  large  family. 

"All  the  members  of  this  same  family  are  the 
offspring  of  this  patriarch  and  all  of  them  have 
some  of  his  distinctive  traits. 

"However,  in  proportion  as  the  generations 
multiply,  the  initial  type  grows  fainter,  and  it 
will  soon  be  necessary  to  stimulate  the  memory, 
in  order  to  recognize  some  traces  of  it  if  numer- 
ous crossings  have  taken  place  in  marriage. 

"But  if  each  one  of  the  children  has  chosen 
a  partner  among  those  of  his  race,  and  if  he  has 
kept  strictly  from  all  foreign  contact,  the  type 


34  SPEECH 

will  be  aeeentnated ;  the  defects  will  stand  forth 
in  bold  relief,  and  the  good  qualities  will  become 
an  instinctive  need,  rather  than  a  result  of 
reasoning. 

**  However,  every  member  of  this  family,  in- 
dividually considered,  will  have  its  own  self- 
government,  its  own  family,  nearer  to  him  than 
his  brother's  family  and,  altho  living  together, 
they  form  groups  around  the  patriarch  who  gave 
them  life. 

"Every  orator  who  wishes  to  be  imbued  with 
the  idea  should  remember  this  symbol. 

"Around  the   idea    ('head   of   the    family') 
other  ideas  group  themselves,  which  are  entirely 
its  issue  and  owe  their  existence  to  it. 

"To  maintain  these  supplementary  ideas  far 
from  all  injurious  contact  should  be  the  absorb- 
ing thought  of  him  who  desires  to  impress  every- 
one with  his  oratorical  power. 

"The  ideas  presented  by  the  orator  are  com- 
municated to  the  assemblage  by  a  sympathetic 
exchange  of  thought,  which  inclines  the  hearers 
to  appropriate  the  thought  of  him  who  knows 
how  to  present  it  to  them  with  oratorical  power. 

"The  danger  to  be  avoided  is  the  diffusion 
of  ideas  which,  starting  from  a  single  point, 
may  diverge  or  be  thrown  into  confusion." 


SPOKEN    WORD    AND    THOUGHT    35 

To  avoid  that  eventuality  which  young  speak- 
ers are  rarely  capable  of  eluding,  the  old  Greek 
advises  us  to  make  use  of  the  method  of  division : 

"In  order,"  says  he,  ''to  escape  the  confusion 
of  similar  ideas,  which  crowd  in  a  disorderly  way 
around  the  principal  idea  and  have  no  other 
effect  than  to  weaken  it,  if  they  are  not  severely 
disciplined,  the  orator  should  think  tirst  of  a 
main  division,  which  he  can  separate  afterward 
into  as  many  subdivisions  as  there  are  different 
groups. 

**In  each  one  of  these  groups  he  will  dis- 
tinguish ideas  appropriate  to  the  development 
of  his  argument, 

''This  choice  effected,  he  will  proceed  to  the 
coordination  of  ideas. 

"This  signifies  that  he  will  remove  all  the 
derogatory  ideas,  and  be  contented  to  retain 
those  which  belong  essentially  to  the  theme  that 
he  wishes  to  develop,  and  that  he  will  estimate 
their  value  according  to  the  degree  of  relation- 
ship they  bear  to  the  initial  idea. 

' '  Then  comes  the  time  for  classification, 

"He  will  establish  among  these  ideas  a  chron- 
ological order,  and  an  order  of  importance. 

"It  is  essential  to  know  how  to  grade  per- 
suasive words,  or  to  reserve  them  as  arguments 


30  SPEECH 

admitting  no  answer,  according  to  the  nature  of 
the  discourse  and  above  all  according  to  the 
character  of  the  audience. 

"Certain  ideas  must  be  presented  brutally  in 
order  to  impress  the  assemblage;  others,  on  the 
contrary,  should  be  unfolded  with  great  care 
that  they  may  not  offend  any  one's  sentiments' 
and  that  they  may  carry  conviction  to  the  minds 
of  others,  in  the  same  manner  as  one  pours  a 
cordial,  drop  by  drop,  into  the  water  which  it 
ought  to  color  uniformly. 

"If  the  mixture  be  too  suddenly  made,  the 
liquid  having  the  least  specific  gravity  will  re- 
main on  the  surface,  and  the  perfect  blending 
will  not  be  obtained, 

"When  these  different  operations  are  finished, 
the  orator's  task  will  only  have  been  sketched. 

* '  Unless  he  wants  to  be  engulfed  by  monotony, 
the  orator  should  avoid  dwelling  too  long  on 
ideas  of  the  same  group. 

"Without  abandoning  the  main  idea,  he  will 
call  forth  divergent  ones  which  will  be  pre- 
sented in  the  form  of  ideas  belonging  to  another 
branch  of  the  same  family. 

"And  it  will  continue  thus  all  through  his  dis- 
course. 

"Without  abandoning  the  main  idea,  he  will 


SPOKEN    WORD    AND    THOUGHT    37 

touch  on  others  which  will  confirm  and  reinforce 
it,  at  the  same  time  adding  a  variety  in  the  types 
of  ideas,  which  are  fundamentally  identical, 
altho  they  present  some  differences  as  to  form. 

"But  in  order  that  these  different  groupings 
should  not  trouble  the  listener  by  their  lack  of 
conformity,  it  is  necessary  to  create  harmony 
between  them. 

"Here  we  notice  that  what  is  called  the  lead- 
ing idea  makes  its  appearance." 

And  Xanthes,  who  loves  to  illustrate  his  de- 
monstrations by  symbolic  fables,  relates  to  us 
the  following  story. 

"A  philosopher,  of  those  who  prof  est  to  be 
followers  of  Aristotle,  was  questioned  one  day 
by  one  of  his  disciples,  who  said  to  him : 

"  'Master,  I  have  followed  religiously  your 
lesson  on  the  art  of  speaking;  tell  me,  I  beg  of 
you,  what  you  understand  by  the  words  "lead- 
ing idea"? 

"  'Do  you  think  it  indispensable  to  a  dis- 
course ? 

"  'What  is  the  nature  of  it,  what  is  its  object?' 

"At  this  moment  a  little  child  was  passing; 
on  his  bare  neck  a  necklace  of  thin  iridescent 
shells  was  clasped. 

"The  philosopher  by  a  sign    called    to    the 


2rA7Vy2 


38  SPEECH 

young  boy  and  offered  to  him  a  small  piece  of 
money. 

*'  'Give  me  this,'  said  he,  pointing  to  the 
ornament. 

*'  'My  necklace?'  asked  the  child  in  surprize. 

"  'Yes,  your  necklace.' 

"The  child  passed  it  over  his  head  and  offered 
it  with  a  questioning  look. 

"Suddenly  jerking  the  string  of  beads  in  op- 
posite directions  the  learned  man  broke  the  cord 
which  held  the  pearly  shells. 

"They  slipt  down  all  along  the  broken 
thread  and  were  spread  out  over  the  ground  in 
a  dazzling  disorder. 

"The  child  and  the  disciple  beheld  without 
understanding. 

"The  philosopher  allowed  them  to  reflect  for 
a  moment,  then  turning  toward  the  child: 

"  'Pick  them  up,'  said  he,  'I  return  them  to 
you.' 

"  'Then,  if  I  keep  the  piece  of  money,  have  I 
the  right  to  take  back  my  shells?' 

"Over  the  face  of  the  old  sage  there  passes  a 
smile  of  success,  and,  turning  toward  the  pupil : 

"  'This  child,'  said  he,  'has  just  answered 
you: 

"  'Bound  by  the  thread  which  held  them  to- 


SPOKEN    WORD    AND    THOUGHT    39 

gether  these  shells  formed  a  necklace ;  the  thread 
once  broken,  they  are  only  shells,  whose  useful- 
ness no  longer  exists,  no  matter  how  many  they 
may  number. 

"  'It  is  thanks  to  this  thread  that  they  be- 
come an  ornament;  it  is  thanks  to  it  also  that, 
saved  from  the  chance  movements  of  the  crowds, 
they  escape  destruction. 

"  'The  leading  idea  is  this,  invisible  thread, 
binding  together  the  ideas  which,  without  it, 
would  only  present  an  ordinary  interest,  and 
would  have  no  chance  to  instil  conviction  into 
the  mind  of  those  whom  we  wish  to  persuade. '  '  * 

And  Xanthes  adds : 

*'Too  many  orators  construct  their  periods 
without  paying  attention  to  the  idea  which  must 
connect  them,  so  that  they  form  a  magnificent 
whole,  which  is  a  perfect  dissertation. 

' '  It  happens  also  that  the  leading  idea  wrongly 
conceived  and  insufficiently  considered,  is  des- 
troyed like  the  thread  of  a  necklace ;  under  such 
conditions  we  witness  the  most  lamentable  spec- 
tacle of  an  orator  seeking  to  find  his  ideas  under 
the  strain  of  excitement  and  uniting  them  with- 
out distinct  purpose  in  view,  without  art  and 
without  method,  without  profit  to  his  audience, 
and  to  the  great  detriment  of  his  reputation. ' ' 


40  SPEECH 

The  idea  is,  therefore,  essential  to  the  art  of 
speaking;  without  determining  its  position,  lan- 
guage can  not  be  exact,  for  it  alone  permits  the 
search  for  expression  and  eliminates  ambiguity, 
disastrous  to  all  orations  delivered  by  those  who 
are  not  both  thinkers  and  speakers. 


LESSON   III 

SWORD   OR   SHIELD 

** Speech/'  says  Xanthes,  *.'is  the  most  effec- 
tual instrument  of  those  who  do  not  ignore  the 
power  of  its  influence. 

"It  can  become  at  the  same  time  an  instru- 
ment of  defense  or  a  terrible  weapon  of  attack. 

"The  great  Demosthenes  has  proved  to  us 
that,  above  all,  when  it  is  a  question  of  self-de- 
fense, one  should  not  scorn  the  shield  protector 
in  order  to  brandish  the  sword,  whose  sudden 
flashes  intimidate  the  adversary. 

"From  the  shock  of  these  imaginary  swords, 
flames  sometimes  burst  forth,  destined  to  wound 
him  who  has  advanced  to  the  attack. 

"Speech  may  be  likened  to  a  weapon  brand- 
ished by  a  chief,  who  starts  out  impetuously  to 
show  his  soldiers  the  road  which  must  lead  them 
all  to  victory. 

"But  to  influence  the  heart  as  well  as  the 
body,  the  weapon  of  speech  must  be  handled  by 
a  clever  warrior. 

41 


42  SPEECH 

"Victory  does  not  belong  to  the  feeble,  and 
such  never  have  power  over  the  masses. 

"Speech  only  becomes  a  real  weapon  when  it 
is  used  by  a  man  striking  with  a  sure  hand  and 
not  allowing  his  blows  to  be  lost  in  useless  osten- 
tation or  in  unjustifiable  attacks. 

"When  the  phrases  are  the  resume  of  a 
thought  strongly  conceived,  they  can  wound 
deeply,  on  condition  that  the  thought  is  con- 
densed in  few  words. 

"The  most  brilliant  sword-thrnsts  are  those 
where  one  is  the  least  hindered  by  useless  feints. 

"Also,  conciseness  can  not  be  too  strongly  re- 
commended to  him  who  would  be  victorious  in 
the  oratorical  combat. 

"One  of  his  absorbing  thoughts  should  be  to 
attack  the  weak  point  and  not  to  waste  strength 
in  sterile  efforts. 

' '  Otherwise,  harassed,  breathless,  and  troubled 
because  of  the  lack  of  success  in  his  attacks,  it 
will  not  be  long  before  he  loses  his  confidence. 

"His  blows,  made  without  aim,  will  never 
reach  his  enemy  with  vital  force,  but,  on  the 
other  hand,  fatigue  will  compel  him  very  soon 
to  declare  his  thought,  and  he  will  fall  under  the 
steel  of  his  adversary,  if  the  latter  be  clever, 
strong,  and  exact." 


SWORD    OR    SHIELD  4-3 

From  this  interesting  comparison  we  should 
draw,  above  all,  the  following  lesson: 

"Conciseness  is  a  force  of  which  we  should 
know  how  to  take  advantage,  if  we  can  attain  it, 
and  which  we  must  acquire  if  we  do  not  possess 
it." 

Who  has  not  suffered  from  being  obliged  to 
listen  to  long  discourses,  whose  purpose  dis- 
appeared each  time  we  thought  we  saw  it  out- 
lined? 

To  sum  up  debates  by  an  argument  which  re- 
solves suddenly  the  difficulty,  as  by  a  saber 
stroke,  is  the  province  of  orators,  whose  mission 
is  to  propagate  the  ideas  of  defense ;  this  is  also 
the  right  of  those  who  desire  to  apply  the  prin- 
ciples of  a  doctrine  based  on  energy  and  the 
undaunted  courage  of  conception. 

"This  use  of  the  symbolic  sword,"  says 
Xanthes,  "recalls  irresistibly  the  action  of  Alex- 
ander, who,  instead  of  making  a  vain  attempt 
to  undo  the  knot  which  held  the  yoke  to  the 
shaft  of  the  chariot  consecrated  to  Jupiter  by 
the  son  of  Gordian  severed  it  with  one  blow 
of  his  heavy  sword. 

"This  act  was  mainly  intended  to  create  in 
the  minds  of  others  a  favorable  impression,  for 
it  increased  the  confidence  of  the  superstitious 


44  SPEECH 

soldiers,  who  all  believed  in  the  oracle  promising 
the  empire  of  Asia  to  him  who  would  separate 
the  yoke  from  the  shaft." 

And  he  adds : 

"How  many  clever  orators  have  extricated 
themselves  from  a  position  not  less  complicated 
than  was  this  knot  of  legendary  fame,  by  using 
a  decisive  and  definite  phrase  to  disentangle  the 
skein  of  sophisms  and  ambiguities. 

"This  was  the  principle  talent  of  the  cele- 
brated warrior  Phocion,  whom  our  common 
master,  Demosthenes,  called  'the  hatchet  of  his 
discourse. ' 

"This  talent  was  so  natural  to  him  that  he 
could  not  understand  why  it  called  forth  such 
admiration. 

"One  day,  during  an  extemporary  speech, 
he  had  unfolded  this  special  talent  in  such  a 
wonderful  manner  that  applause  burst  forth 
from  the  audience. 

"Phocion  then,  turning  toward  his  friends, 
simply  asked  them: 

"  'Have  I  said  some  stupid  thing?'  " 

How  many  speakers  of  modern  times  ought  to 
be  modeled  after  the  Athenian  general ! 

To  the  former  applause  seems  like  delicious 
honey,  the  distribution  of  which  is  their  due. 


SWORD    OR    SHIELD  45 

Those  speakers  are  rare  who  would  think  of 
asking  their  friends  what  is  the  cause  of  noisy- 
approbation. 

We  should,  however,  render  justice  to  orators 
whose  talent  is  recognized  and  agree  that  by 
these  the  beverage  of  praise  is  rarely  tasted 
without  discretion. 

Generally  they  are  very  critical  of  themselves, 
finding  the  reward  for  their  efforts  in  attaining 
their  own  personal  standard  of  excellence. 

Is  it  with  them,  as  with  the  Athenian  general, 
that  such  applause  astonishes  them  and  that  they 
can  not  accurately  appreciate  its  sincerity? 

Modern  intellectual  culture  does  not  permit 
of  doubts  such  as  dwelt  in  the  sterner  souls  of 
Xanthes'  ancestors. 

But  he  who  wishes  to  perfect  himself  in  this 
art  should  not  rely  on  the  praise,  more  or  less 
sincere,  of  his  audience ;  it  is  within  himself  that 
he  must  search  for  the  principles  of  approbation 
which  will  be  to  him  most  precious  to  receive; 
and  it  is  in  himself  again  that  he  should  find  the 
wisest  and  most  honest  criticism. 

"But,"  continues  the  philosopher,  "it  is  not 
given  to  all  who  cultivate  the  art  of  oratory  to 
find  these  trenchant  and  decisive  words. 

"There  are  very  few  among  public  speakers 


46  SPEECH 

who  know  them,  in  the  first  place,  and  far  fewer 
who  recognize  that  they  should  be  uttered  at 
the  psychological  moment, 

"Must  we  then  conclude  that  the  use  of  these 
categorical  phrases  is  a  gift  reserved  for  the 
privileged  few  and  that  the  mass  of  other  speak- 
ers will  never  know  the  triumph  of  a  cause 
achieved  by  virtue  of  the  word-sword,  as  a  battle 
is  won  by  some  heroic  deed  ? 

"We  should  err  if  we  thought  that  these  men 
became  leaders  of  the  masses  all  at  once. 

"As  it  is  with  the  majority  of  all  our  talents, 
eloquence  is  acquired  when  one  has  decided  to 
win. 

"It  is  by  slow  and  rational  study  that  we 
succeed  in  uttering  those  phrases  which  decide 
the  situation  or  dangerously  wound  the  adver- 
sary. 

"Ideas  should  first  be  analyzed,  as  has  been 
said  in  the  preceding  chapter. 

"They  must  be  studied  most  attentively,  and 
we  must  be  imbued  with  them  in  a  definite 
manner. 

"Then  we  must  try  to  form  an  opinion  from 
which  there  is  no  appeal. 

"The  moment  will  then  have  arrived  to  for- 
mulate it  in  phrases. 


SWORD    OR    SHIELD  47 

**  These  phrases  must  be  carefully  arranged, 
taking  care  to  remember  the  events  which  they 
will  depict  with  scrupulous  accuracy. 

''This  done,  we  must  take  care  to  concentrate 
our  thought  upon  all  which  is  worthy  of  con- 
sideration and  make  the  expression  of  such  con- 
centration as  concise  as  possible. 

"Above  all,  we  should  make  our  phrases  short, 
resonant,  and  comprehensive  as  to  the  idea  which 
they  wish  to  convey. 

"By  the  aid  of  the  leading  idea  we  should  fit 
them  well  together  that  they  may  be  coordinated 
without,  however,  overlapping,  for  phrases  which 
encroach  on  each  other  always  exert  an  unfavor- 
able influence  on  clearness  of  speech. 

"And  now  a  special  work  begins. 

"Like  an  essence  which  is  reduced  to  that 
point  where  the  strongest  perfume  is  exhaled 
from  the  most  concentrated  mass  of  liquid,  just 
so  all  the  parts  of  a  discourse  must  be  so  con- 
structed that  all  useless  words  will  disappear, 
to  give  place  to  that  which  we  may  term  the 
quintessence  of  thought. 

"Only  from  this  oft-repeated  study  have 
sprung  these  phrases,  clear  and  sharp  as  an  ax, 
which  have  decided  in  a  manner  the  fate  of 
peoples." 

IX. 4 


48  SPEECH 

By  reducing  the  theory  of  Xanthes  to  more 
modern  and  utilitarian  proportions,  we  shall  find 
a  daily  application  of  the  advice  which  he  gives 
us. 

Yes,  the  decisive  word  is  often  necessary  to 
resolve  situations  which  the  most  enduring  pa- 
tience could  not  elucidate. 

What  family,  what  institution,  what  associa- 
tion has  not  its  Gordian  knot  around  which  the 
weak  ones  strive  in  vain? 

All  of  a  sudden  a  man  of  energy  appears;  he 
judges  of  the  situation  at  a  glance ;  it  is  not  his 
way  to  ruin  his  nails  by  untying  this  inextric- 
able knot;  his  time  is  too  valuable  to  be  lost  in 
vain  attempts. 

As  with  all  the  others  who  have  preceded  him, 
he  leans  over  the  obstacle,  looks  upon  the  tangle, 
tries  to  unfasten  it,  then  reflects. 

Long  discourses  and  discussions  take  place 
around  him  and  seem  to  be  unending ;  he  allows 
the  prolix  orators  to  become  involved  in  their 
own  arguments,  and,  before  any  one  of  them  is 
able  to  anticipate  his  intention,  he  rises  and  with 
a  telling  phrase  annihilates  the  useless  con- 
jectures by  eradicating  the  difficulty,  which  he 
suppresses,  at  least  in  the  form  which  it  assumes 
at  present. 


SWORD    OR    SHIELD  49 

Shall  we  say  that  he  has  annihilated  it? 

No,  certainly  not;  but  he  compels  it  to  be 
presented  in  a  very  different  way,  thus  regener- 
ating the  field  of  thought  and  the  results  which 
are  therein  produced. 

It  is  Xanthes  who  tells  us : 

' '  Conciseness  is  an  element  of  success  in  every 
discourse. 

"By  conciseness,  one  must  not  understand 
shortness  of  duration ;  a  discourse  can  be  very 
long  and  at  the  same  time  very  concise,  if  it 
contains  many  ideas,  each  one  exprest  in  the 
fewest  possible  words, 

* '  Those  who  do  not  observe  this  rule  will  never 
be  anything  but  babblers,  and  in  their  hands 
the  sword  of  speech  will  have  the  appearance  of 
a  jagged  knife." 

Passing  on  to  the  interpretation  of  the  picture 
which  composes  the  second  title  of  this  chapter, 
the  old  Athenian  continues: 

"Speech,  in  certain  cases,  is  distinctively  a 
shield. 

"We  have  just  said  that  the  greatest  orator  of 
Greece  did  not  consider  it  from  this  point  of 
view  in  cases  of  defense. 

"One  can  but  admire  the  depth  of  this  prin- 
ciple. 


50  SPEECH 

"The  shield  is  a  defensive  weapon,  above  all; 
the  blows  ought  to  fall  upon  the  shield. 

"And  to  use  only  this  means,  when  it  is  a 
question  of  attack,  is  to  be  willing  to  endure 
them  all. 

"The  shield  ought,  therefore,  to  be  used  less 
to  weaken  the  force  of  the  blows  than  to  in- 
timidate the  adversary  by  the  invulnerability 
which  it  confers. 

"One  would  hesitate  to  attack  him  who  seems 
covered  with  scales  which  can  not  be  pierced  by 
a  sword. 

"And,  as  the  bearing  of  a  shield  does  not  ex- 
clude the  use  of  the  sword,  one  might  fear,  in 
approaching  the  enemy  sufficiently  near  to  force 
him  to  show  himself,  that  one  was  within  reach 
of  his  sword. 

"Every  prudent  orator  ought  therefore  to 
wear  a  shield  alongside  of  his  sword-word  com- 
posed of  ideal  thoughts  that  the  adversary  may 
consider  as  disturbing  to  his  serenity. 

"It  is  unwise  to  expose  oneself  and  to  allow 
the  adversary  to  perceive  the  defect  to  be  found 
in  some  part  of  the  finest  tempered-steel  cuirass. 

* '  The  use  then  of  the  shield  is  valuable  in  this 
sense,  that  it  defeats  attacks  and  puts  prudence 
on  guard." 


SWORD    OR    SHIELD  61 

In  less  symbolical  language,  we  shall  agree 
with  Xanthes  that  the  orator  who  knows  how  to 
influence  people  by  his  reserve  and  his  self- 
possession  will  produce  an  impression  all  the 
more  that,  under  his  apparent  coolness,  each 
one  of  his  adversaries  will  desire  to  discover  his 
plans,  which  each  one  will  formulate  according 
to  the  interpretation  of  his  own  fears. 

Then  it  is  always  clever  to  pass  oneself  off  as 
an  invulnerable  man. 

This  is  one  way  of  putting  to  flight  intriguers 
and  evil-minded  people,  who,  fearing  to  break 
their  arrows  against  a  solid  shield,  will  spare 
them,  or  at  least  will  think  it  best  only  to  employ 
them  knowingly  in  attacking  some  one  who  ap- 
pears easy  to  fight. 

Let  us  add  that  great  reserve  always  baffles 
an  adversary,  because  it  does  not  allow  him  to 
perceive  any  of  our  cherished  projects  or  the 
sentiment  which  we  conceal. 

It  is  above  all  valuable  in  dialog,  for  it 
dissembles  the  ardent  desire  of  realization,  which 
enthusiasts  allow  to  be  apparent  without  calcu- 
lating the  consequences. 

Strong  in  his  apparent  apathy,  he  who  hides 
himself  behind  the  shield  of  reserve  knows  how 
to  present  his  objections  or  his  projects  with 


52  SPEECH 

such  an  impenetrable  air  that,  not  only  his  ad- 
versaries are  unable  to  divine  what  importance 
he  attaches  to  them,  but  he  deceives  them  by 
leading  them  to  think  that  he  is  completely  un- 
interested in  them. 

Truth  in  the  expression  of  indifference  is  at 
times  so  marked  that,  instead  of  obtaining  con- 
cessions which  they  had  hoped  to  secure,  they 
reach  the  point  where  they  formulate  propo- 
sitions tending  to  compel  their  relinquishment. 
of  the  privileges  which  they  had  already  ac- 
quired. 

The  shield,  when  used  in  public  speaking  or 
in  parliamentary  discussion,  if  we  may  believe 
the  Athenian  philosopher,  can  adopt  a  thousand 
forms  and  appropriate  to  itself  many  different 
names. 

"For  many,"  says  he,  *'the  shield  may  be  re- 
presented by  a  general  idea,  behind  which  this 
class  of  people  may  take  refuge  in  order  to  elude 
too  pressing  resolutions. 

"Other  orators  proclaim  principles  whose 
sum  total  constitutes  a  magnificent  series  of 
tedious  arguments. 

"Still  a  few  more  invoke  the  ideas  under, 
whose  influence  reasoning  is  established. 

"The    majority    take    shelter    behind    high- 


SWORD    OR    SHIELD  63 

sounding  words,  such  as:  abnegation,  virtue, 
patriotism. 

"We  do  not  wish  to  insinuate  that  they  lack 
sincerity,  for  a  large  number  among  them  are 
absolutely  convinced  of  the  solid  foundation  of 
their  arguments,  under  the  shadow  of  which  they 
are  entrenched;  but  the  skill  of  the  orator  con- 
sists in  compelling  respect  for  this  conviction 
from  his  audience  and  to  make  them  share  this 
conviction," 

Xanthes  insists  still  further  on  that  which  he 
calls  the  ''shield  ideas"  and  develops  his  theme 
as  follows : 

"There  are  some  orators  whose  line  of  argu- 
ment presents  no  brilliant  side;  these  are  not 
always  the  least  admired,  if  they  know  how  to 
insert  the  defensive  idea  into  their  orations, 
which  will  aid  them  in  obtaining  results,  by  em- 
ploying the  words  which  permit  them  to  in- 
struct inquirers,  to  confute  opponents,  or  to  es- 
tablish clearly  the  truth,  in  other  words,  to 
strengthen  their  mental  attitude  by  introducing 
the  element  of  reasoning  into  all  their  dis- 
cussions." 

It  seems  to  us  that  this  last  phrase  recapitu- 
lates the  signification  of  that  which  the  Athenian 
means  when  he  uses  the  word-shield. 


54  SPEECH 

It  is  in  reality  not  only  the  means  of  resisting 
the  adversary's  attacks,  but  it  is  also  the  ability 
to  protect  oneself,  while  we  assume  an  attitude 
of  wise  expectancy. 

The  surest  way  to  create  confusion  among 
one's  opponents,  is  to  dissemble  one's  thought. 

This  is,  in  a  word,  an  artifice  which  permits 
time  for  reflection  to  exert  its  influence  without 
the  mental  tension  being  perceptible  to  those 
whom  it  should  escape. 

It  is  also  a  method  of  allowing  the  power  of 
reason  to  triumph,  because  the  defensive  in 
debate  permits  the  orator  to  unfold  his  argu- 
ments with  understanding,  that  is  to  say,  when 
the  adversary,  disconcerted  by  his  attitude,  has 
exhausted  the  reserve  force  of  the  arguments 
which  he  has  successively  employed,  in  the  hope 
of  destroying  this  bulwark  of  defense  which  con- 
ceals from  him  the  thought  and  the  intentions 
of  the  one  whom  he  is  combating. 

"Finally,"  says  Xanthes,  ''a  clever  orator 
will  know  how  to  wield  to  his  own  advantage 
these  two  weapons,  so  different  and  yet  both  so 
indispensable. 

"He  will  understand  how  to  watch  for  the 
moment  when  his  opponent,  tired  out,  will  get 
back  his  breath,  to  detach  for  a  moment  the  shield 


SWORD    OR    SHIELD  55 

with  which  he  has  until  now  protected  himself, 
and  to  draw  the  sword  which  enables  him  to 
change  from  the  defensive  to  the  aggressive. 

"The  greater  part  of  the  science  of  oratory 
lies  in  the  judicious  use  of  these  two  weapons: 
the  sword  and  the  shield. 

"It  is  thanks  to  them  that  discourses  or  dis- 
cussions will  be  freed  from  the  monotony  which 
characterizes   parliamentary   debates, 

"Neither  the  most  perfect  reasoning  nor  the 
greatest  eloquence  can  long  hold  the  attention 
of  an  audience,  if  the  diversity  of  the  con- 
troversy does  not  arouse  enthusiasm." 

It  seems  to  us  that  these  suggestions  should 
be  closely  examined  by  those  who  speak  without 
antagonists. 

How  many  political  or  religious  orators,  how 
many  lecturers  would  gain  by  meditating  upon 
the  preceding  lines: 

"Moral  lassitude  is  born  of  monotony,"  says 
a  famous  proverb. 

This  quotation  should  be  engraved  in  letters 
of  gold  above  the  entrance  to  every  auditorium 
where  public  meetings  are  held,  as  well  as  over 
the  doors  of  salons  where  people  assemble  to 
listen  to  a  lecturer. 

He  who  understands  how  to  wield  the  sword 


56  SPEECH 

properly,  or  to  take  refuge  behind  the  shield  of 
reserve  will  be  sure  to  avoid  the  most  serious 
cause  of  failure. 

The  popularity  of  an  orator  is  usually  due  to 
his  clever  wit. 

So  there  are  some  with  exceedingly  respect- 
able talent  who  can  not  hold  the  attention  of  the 
public. 

Others,  far  less  versed  in  the  art  of  oratory, 
succeed  in  charming  their  hearers  to  the  extent 
of  causing  them  to  forget  all  their  defects  and 
only  to  recognize  their  brilliant  qualities. 

It  is  the  latter  who  practise  the  art  which 
Xanthes  speaks  of  in  this  chapter. 

Alternately  sweeping  down  upon  an  adver- 
sary in  a  sudden  attack  or  taking  refuge  in  a 
defense  full  of  reserve,  they  possess  both  the 
dash  of  the  swashbuckler  and  the  enigmatic 
charm  of  the  thinker. 

These  orators  force  attention  in  spite  of  every- 
thing, and — in  the  words  of  a  celebrated  proverb 
— "Not  only  when  they  speak,  but  even  at  mo- 
ments when  they  say  nothing. 


>> 


LESSON   IV 

WEALTH  OF  ELOQUENCE  AND  OPU- 
LENCE OF  WIT 

"There  is,"  says  Xanthes,  "a  very  capri- 
cious bird. 

"They  are  few  who  know  how  to  keep  him 
in  a  cage. 

"However,  he  allows  himself  to  be  easily 
caught;  he  comes  quickly  at  the  sound  of  the 
pastoral  flute,  for  he  is  far  from  being  wild. 

"He  allows  himself  willingly  to  be  attracted 
by  the  sounds  which  escape  from  an  open  win- 
dow. 

"He  enters,  listens  for  a  moment  to  the  trills 
of  some  musical  instrument,  then,  as  quickly  as 
he  came,  he  flies  away  to  some  other  habitation 
in  order  to  listen  to  the  song  of  the  lute. 

"But  there  also  his  stay  is  momentary,  and 
the  sound  of  the  human  voice  ringing  out  in  a 
simple  and  sweet  melody  soon  urges  him  to- 
ward a  different  place. 

"He  does  not  take  flight,  however,  without 
the  intention  of  returning. 

57 


58  SPEECH 


((■ 


'It  is  not  unusual  to  see  him  reappear  after 
these  various  migrations;  but  his  presence  is 
only  evanescent,  and  he  departs  on  the  wing, 
from  the  moment  he  imagines  he  will  be  cap- 
tured. 

"At  times,  also,  his  flight  will  lead  him  very- 
far  from  his  native  haunts;  a  very  long  time 
elapses  before  he  comes  back  to  the  point  of 
departure. 

"But,  most  of  the  time,  he  does  not  soar  away 
definitely,  and  makes  brief  appearances,  fol- 
lowed by  more  or  less  prolonged  absences. 

"However,  it  happens  sometimes  that  an  air 
or  a  song  will  seem  particularly  agreeable  to 
him ;  then  he  does  not  fly  away  from  the  grasp 
of  one  who  seizes  him  gently  and  shuts  him  up  in 
a  cage,  from  which  he  does  not  try  to  escape. 

"The  reason  for  this  is  that  this  person  knew 
how  to  unite  all  charms  with  (most  important 
of  all)  all  variety,  which  attract  the  bird  At- 
tention. 

"This  bird-fancier  knew  how,  by  the  diver- 
sity of  his  songs,  to  compete  successfully  with 
the  attraction  of  the  neighboring  lute  or  with 
the  charm  of  the  shepherd's  flute." 

And,  continuing  to  unwind  the  thread  of  his 
story,  Xanthes  adds: 


ELOQUENCE    AND    WIT  59 

"But  he  must  not  fall  asleep  in  the  triumph 
of  assured  victory. 

"If  he  neglects  to  interest  the  bird  Attention 
by  means  of  the  manifold  charms  of  his  melo- 
dies and  their  infinite  variety ;  if  he  permits  this 
bird  to  listen  to  a  one-chord  and  monotonous 
song,  the  bird,  not  being  able  to  escape  from  his 
cage,  will  not  wait  long  before  falling  asleep, 
a  slumber  from  which  silence  alone  will  awaken 
him." 

The  capture  of  which  the  philosopher  speaks 
is  what,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  demands  the  great- 
est care  and  offers  also  the  greatest  difficulties. 

To  have  "the  ear  of  the  public"  always  im- 
plies for  an  orator  the  constant  effort  to  attract 
his  audience. 

Otherwise,  like  the  bird  in  the  story,  their 
attention  will  escape  and  wander  far  from  him 
who  is  striving  in  vain  to  recall  it. 

Now,  faithful  to  his  principle,  after  having 
indicated  the  mistake  to  us,  the  old  Athenian 
is  going  to  tell  us  what  is  ih'e  origin  of  it,  by 
showing  us  how  to  combat  it. 

"Most  orators,"  he  says,  "err  through  ex- 
tremes. 

"With  some  this  disposition  is  manifested  by 
an  abundance  of  high-sounding  words. 


60  SPEECH 

' '  Others  indulge  in  an  excessof  ideas,  which  they 
accumulate  without  any  systematized  method  and 
without  giving  themselves  leisure  to  analyze  them. 

' '  Certain  of  them  seek,  above  all,  words  which 
produce  startling  effects,  but  their  multiplicity 
prevents  the  individual  brilliancy  of  each  one 
in  particular  from  being  appreciated. 

"Their  discourses  resemble  certain  cuirasses 
made  of  sparkling  scales,  whose  reflection  is 
spread  over  them  all,  forming  at  a  glance  one 
blaze  of  light,  seeming  at  a  short  distance  to  be 
one  single  sheet  of  metal. 

"Generally  both  fail  to  arrest  the  attention 
of  their  audience. 

"This  accumulation  of  words,  as  also  of 
ideas,  ends  inevitably  in  creating  a  weariness 
among  those  who  listen  which  is  evident  by  the 
flagging  of  the  attention. 

"To  return  to  absolute  simplicity  of  thought 
and  expression  will  be  the  only  method  of  reme- 
dying this  lack  of  discipline. 

' '  Orators  to  whom  we  listen  with  real  pleasure 
are  those  who  understand  how  to  mingle  serious 
and  dispassionate  phrases,  words  whose  sonor- 
ous terminology  gives  the  impression  of  the  call 
of  the  trumpet  bursting  forth  upon  the  theme 
of  the  flute. 


ELOQUENCE    AND    WIT  61 

''We  admire  the  restful  harmony  of  a  rip- 
pling stream,  but  we  can  fall  asleep  easily  to 
the  murmur  of  its  babbling. 

"The  rumbling  of  the  thunder,  if  it  con- 
tinues, will  have  the  same  soporific  effect. 

"Neither  waves  clashing  in  violent  shocks  nor 
the  wind  blowing  in  a  tempest  would  any  the 
more  have  the  power  to  keep  us  awake, 

"But  if  the  restful  song  of  the  brook  be  over- 
powered by  the  spontaneous  roll  of  the  thunder 
we  should  be  startled  and  should  wait  for  a 
return  of  the  sound. 

"We  should  do  the  same  if  a  calm  followed  a 
storm  and  if  the  deafening  tempest  suddenly 
abated. 

"In  the  lull  which  follows  we  should  per- 
ceive the  gentle  murmur  of  the  brook  until,  our 
attention  being  no  more  diverted  by  different 
sounds,  we  give  ourselves  up  to  the  languor 
caused  by  monotony." 

From  this  vivid  description  we  should  con- 
clude, therefore,  that  wealth  of  eloquence,  if  it  be 
continued  indefinitely,  becomes  a  barrier  to  the 
powers  of  concentration  among  one's  hearers. 

We  should  not,  however,  think  that  the  disci- 
ple of  the  great  Greek  orators  approves  of  lack 
of  ideas  and  of  poverty  of  terminology. 


62  SPEECH 

After  having  put  us  on  our  guard  against  the 
opposite  extravagance,  he  advises  us  to  study 
expression  and  ideas  in  the  following  terms: 

"An  orator  should  concentrate  his  mind  on 
that  which  relates  to  opulence  in  words  and  on 
the  habitual  use  of  elegant  expressions,  but  there 
should  be  no  necessity  for  mental  effort  on  the 
part  of  his  audience  to  understand  them. 

"It  is  by  attentive  observation  of  this  pro- 
cedure that  one  will  acquire  the  understanding 
of  rhythmic  phraseology  and  of  moderation,  the 
sure  foundation  of  all  oratory, 

"This  desirable  attention  to  simplicity  will 
not  prevent  the  cultivation  of  strong  and  superb 
rhythm,  which  ought  to  be  the  object  of  all 
studies  pursued  by  those  who  intend  to  speak  in 
public. 

"This  moderation  ought  to  be  so  applied  that 
it  will  never  conflict  with  outbursts  of  oratorical 
inspiration. 

"It  is  after  a  dispassionate  explanation  and 
a  circumspect  and  simplified  discussion  that 
words,  overflowing  with  lyrical  language,  will 
have  the  power  to  make  hearts  beat. 

*^' Noble  and  legitimate  passion,  revealing  it- 
self in  magnificent  phrases,  will  be  aroused  in 
others  just  in  proportion  as  it  compels  atten- 


ELOQUENCE    AND    WIT  63 

tion  and  revives  it  to  the  advantage  of  a  senti- 
ment, the  enthusiasm  of  which  has  not  been 
weakened  by  preceding  demonstrations. 

"The  heart  is  accustomed  to  generous  im- 
pulses and  never  refuses  to  follow  them,  if  they 
are  skilfully  elicited. 

"The  faculty  of  reasoning  is  not  always  pos- 
sest  by  the  masses,  and  the  impulse  arising  from 
instinct  should  be  considered,  as  of  vital  im- 
portance to  the  passages  of  a  discourse  the  mem- 
ory of  which  gives  them  prominence  even  after 
the  orator  has  finished  speaking.  The  function 
of  this  one  is  to  arouse  visions  in  the  mind  whose 
desired  realization  induces  the  action  which  it 
is  wished  to  cause. 

"This  is  why  one  should  avoid  lengthy  ar- 
guments filled  with  pretentious  words,  which, 
repeated  continuously,  become  a  habit  and  de- 
stroy spontaneity  of  thought. 

"It  is  most  unwise  for  him  who  wishes  to  in- 
spire enthusiasm  to  allow  his  auditors  time  for 
determining  on  their  deductions  at  the  same 
time  that  his  arguments  are  being  approved. 

"The  orator  should  not  only  suggest  his  ar- 
gument to  the  audience  but  he  should  impress 
it  on  them. 

"It  should  be  developed  in  sub-divisions  pro- 

IX.5 


64  SPEECH 

ceeding  from  the  main  branch  and  not  in  paral- 
lel branches,  because,  if  there  exists  the  least 
divergence  from  the  source  this  deviation  would 
not  take  long  to  be  converted  into  a  decided 
split. 

"Now  the  object  of  every  speaker  is  to  instil 
conviction  into  the  mind  of  those  who  listen  to 
him,  no  matter  what  the  subject  of  his  discourse 
may  be." 

Xanthes  then  indicates  to  us  the  inherent 
disadvantages  of  too  great  a  wealth  of  ideas. 

"It  is  impossible,"  he  says,  "to  warn  an  ora- 
tor strongly  enough  against  the  danger  of  a 
torrent  of  ideas  which,  like  tumultuous  waves, 
make  a  disorderly  assault  upon  the  brain. 

"The  least  disadvantage  which  can  result  is 
weariness  for  them  and  for  their  hearers. 

"Too  many  ideas  can  not  find  their  proper 
place  in  a  single  address,  and  thus,  if  he  wishes 
to  elaborate  them  all,  the  orator  finds  himself 
forced  to  unfold  them  very  concisely  and  not 
analyze  them  exhaustively, 

"Prolixity  of  ideas  is  a  common  fault  among 
inexperienced  orators,  who  do  not  know  how 
to  take  out  of  a  speech  all  the  superfluous  mat- 
ter. 

"That  is  why  they  rarely  succeea  in  having 


ELOQUENCE    AND    WIT  65 

their  theories  adopted,  for  conviction  can  not 
be  created  as  to  a  thought  too  concisely  de- 
veloped and  uttered  without  explanation. 

' '  As  we  have  already  seen,  it  is  not  only  well 
to  reflect  deeply,  to  classify,  to  coordinate,  and 
to  deduce,  but  these  operations  must  be  made 
intelligible  to  listeners,  in  order  that  they  them- 
selves may  take  the  direction  of  them," 

And  Xanthes  then  shrewdly  adds: 

"It  can  even  be  positively  stated  that,  in  the 
majority  of  cases,  he  who  has  followed  easily 
the  argument  suggested  will  not  be  long  in  be- 
lieving that  he  has  conceived  it  and  will  not 
fail  to  claim  the  glory  of  his  perspicacity,  if 
facts  are  able  to  confirm  it. 

"What  greater  success  for  an  orator  than  to 
be  able  to  create  such  an  illusion  ? 

"He  will  be  all  the  more  quickly  rewarded, 
because  every  one  is  more  disposed  to  be  devoted 
to  a  cause  when  they  believe  themselves  to  be 
the  originators  of  it. 

"For  all  these  reasons,  it  is  most  unwise  to 
subject  the  intelligence  of  a  hearer  to  gymnas- 
tics of  too  violent  a  nature. 

"Besides,  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  too 
great  an  abundance  of  ideas  hinders  precision 
of  expression. 


66  SPEECH 


i  1 1 


'This  exactness,  however,  is  the  basic 
strength  of  all  public  speaking, 

"What  must  be  absolutely  avoided  is  weari- 
ness on  the  part  of  one's  listeners. 

"It  is  unconsciously  that  they  must  be  at- 
tracted by  the  arguments  unfolded  to  them. 

"It  ought  to  seem  a  coveted  pleasure  and  not 
a  prescribed  duty  for  them  to  follow  the  argu- 
ment of  an  orator. 

"In  order  to  accomplish  this  purpose  it  is, 
therefore,  necessary  to  present  the  idea  which 
one  desires  to  have  accepted  as  one  would  pre- 
sent a  valuable  object  by  placing  it  on  a  small 
pedestal  in  an  empty  room. 

"One  can  not  too  strongly  insist  on  this  last 
point,"  continued  Xanthes,  who,  combining  his 
favorite  argument  with  his  teaching,  cites  the 
following  illustration : 

' '  Suppose,  for  example,  that  you  want  to  have 
ten  objects  admired;  would  you  put  them  pell- 
mell  in  a  case,  taking  care  to  place  this  case  in 
a  room  encumbered  with  useless  trifles  ? 

"He  who  should  act  in  this  way  would  un- 
questionably be  looked  upon  as  most  stupid,  and 
he  need  not  be  astonished  if  his  knicknaeks 
are  only  superficially  appreciated. 

"The  clever  salesman,  on  the  contrary,  will 


ELOQUENCE    AND    WIT  67 

take  care  to  arrange  each  of  these  objects  ac- 
oording  to  their  value ;  he  will  place  them  sep- 
arately in  such  a  way  that  it  will  be  possible  to 
walk  around  them,  thus  being  able  to  admire 
them  from  every  side. 

"He  will  be  scrupulously  careful  not  to  litter 
up  the  room  where  he  exhibits  them  with  puerile 
objects,  whose  presence  would  distract  the  at- 
tention of  visitors. 

"The  orator  should  take  his  inspiration  from 
this  example,  if  he  desires  that  the  thoughts 
which  he  is  going  to  submit  to  his  audience 
should  be  appreciated  and  valued  as  they  de- 
serve to  be. 

"He  will  take  good  care  not  to  abandon  his 
first  idea  for  a  second  one,  and  then  returning 
to  the  first  quickly  leave  it  again,  to  the  ad- 
vantage of  the  second. 

"By  acting  thus  he  would  do  like  the  mer- 
chant who  boasted  of  the  profits  of  a  statue, 
putting  it  down  in  order  to  take  up  a  picture, 
the  design  of  which  he  wanted  to  have  appre- 
ciated, then  as  quickly  seized  again  the  statue 
and  began  to  admire  the  outline  of  the  arm. 

' '  So  well  did  he  act  his  part  of  salesman  that, 
once  outside  the  shop,  the  buyer  would  be 
obliged  to  quicken  his  memory  in  order  to  recall 


68  SPEECH 

the  merits  of  each  one  of  the  works  of  art  he 
had  seen. 

*'He  would  hesitate  before  deciding  upon  the 
perfection  of  a  drawing,  asking  himself  if  this 
admiration  ought  not  rather  to  be  given  to 
the  statue,  and  when  he  would  review  in  imagi- 
nation the  beauties  of  the  latter,  the  outlines 
of  the  picture  would  be  interposed  between  his 
recollections  and  the  perception  which  he  de- 
sired to  evoke. 

"We  can  conclude  that,  in  all  probability, 
he  will  purchase  neither  the  one  nor  the  other 
of  these  objects  so  inadequately  exhibited  and 
whose  beauty  was  so  unsatisfactorily  described, 

"Too  many  orators  resemble  these  merchants. 

* '  Some  of  them  mass  ideas  in  an  indescribable 
disorder. 

"Others  present  them  simultaneously,  scat- 
tering them  pell-mell,  so  that  the  listener  is 
obliged  to  undertake  a  real  task  in  order  not  to 
unite  the  conclusion  of  one  with  the  evolution 
of  the  other. 

"Very  numerous  are  those  who  allow  them 
to  be  aggressive,  so  much  so  that,  like  the  cen- 
taurs of  the  fable,  they  seem  to  have  sprung 
from  two  different  beings. 

"There   are  also   those  who,   as  with   blows 


ELOQUENCE    AND    WIT  69 

from  a  hatchet,  overwhelm  the  public  with  ar- 
guments which  they  believe  conclusive,  and 
which,  perhaps,  would  be,  if  they  allowed  time 
for  them  to  be  understood. 

"But  scarcely  is  the  blow  aimed  when  they 
deliver  another  without  allowing  the  dazed  lis- 
tener time  to  get  back  his  wits. 

"There  are  those  who  join  the  wealth  of  ideas 
to  opulent  eloquence,  of  which  we  have  already 
spoken. 

"So  well  do  all  these  accomplish  their  pur- 
pose that  the  audience,  drowned  beneath  the 
metaphors,  submerged  by  the  flood  of  ideas, 
deafened  by  the  blast  of  loud  words,  have  only 
one  desire:  to  escape  this  torture  and  to  renew 
the  experience  as  seldom  as  possible. 

"How  different  is  the  discreet  speaker  who 
understands  how  to  enclose  the  minds  of  others 
vnth  the  net  tightened  by  his  simple  and  im- 
pregnable arguments. 

"He  does  not  unfold  more  than  one  idea  at 
a  time,  never  abandoning  it  before  he  ascer- 
tains that  all  his  hearers  understand  it  and  it 
is  acceptable  by  each  one. 

"He  will  not  despise  abrupt  phrases  and 
harsh-sounding  words,  but  he  will  understand 
how  to  use  them  so  that  they  will  lose  none  of 


70  SPEECH 

their  effect,  and  will  employ  them  in  such  a 
way  that  their  appeal  will  be  a  sure  incitement 
to  conviction. 

"Finally  he  will  decide  with  certainty  the 
moment  when  the  attention  of  his  public  spreads 
its  wings  to  fly  away  from  the  auditorium  which 
he  fills  with  the  sound  of  his  voice,  and  he  will 
immediately  seize  upon  some  diversion  which 
will  retain  it." 

Would  one  not  suppose  that  these  lines,  writ- 
ten some  years  before  the  beginning  of  our  era, 
had  just '  been  published  for  the  use  of  lec- 
turers, who  are  becoming  more  numerous  every 
day! 

If  these  latter  wish  to  be  sincere,  they  will 
acknowledge  that  true  success  is  not  the  lot  of  a 
redundant  and  inflated  speaker  any  more  than 
it  will  be  the  inheritance  of  a  too-prolific 
thinker. 

It  belongs  to  him  who  understands  varying 
his  effects  and  caging  the  migratory  bird,  which 
all  speakers  would  like  to  capture  and  whose 
flight  few  among  them  are  able  to  arrest:  At- 
tention. 


LESSON  V 

OF    ELOQUENCE 

If  we  believe  Xanthes,  there  are  two  distinct 
kinds  of  eloquence. 

"The  one  may  be  compared  to  the  lightning 
which  flashes  and  quickly  vanishes. 

"The  other,  like  the  fire  concealed  beneath 
the  ashes,  lies  dormant  a  long  time  before  the 
flame  bursts  forth. 

' '  The  lightning,  however,  does  not  always  des- 
troy the  objects  which  it  grazes.  It  happens 
sometimes  that  it  encircles  them  and  sinks  into 
the  earth,  leaving  them  intact. 

"The  conflagration,  on  the  contrary,  has  al- 
ready half  done  its  work  when  the  flame  bursts 
out,  and  most  of  the  time  it  devours  only  the 
shapeless  remains,  having  by  this  time  spent  all 
the  force  of  its  redoubtable  dominion. 

"Without  underrating  the  first  form,  which 
at  a  critical  moment  can  be  an  element  of  valu- 
able assistance,  we  can  not  fail  to  admire  the 
force  of  the  other,  for,  at  the  crucial  minute,  it 

71 


72  SPEECH 

reaches  only  those  who  are  convinced,  all  ready 
to  become  fervent  disciples. 

"Eloquence  is,  above  all,  the  power  to  per- 
suade. 

''It  is  also,  at  times,  the  means  of  attracting 
crowds  and  of  deciding  acts  of  heroism  and  self- 
sacrifice. 

' '  However,  in  this  last  form  it  is  not  so  often 
used. 

"Impassioned  effort  and  tender  emotions  pos- 
sess only  a  relatively  limited  power  in  ordinary 
life,  but  the  need  of  inspiring  conviction  exists 
in  every  step  of  the  social  ladder,  and  those  who 
have  the  secret  of  developing  it  in  the  hearts  of 
others  belong  to  the  most  powerful  race  in  the 
world. 

* '  Heroic  eloquence  achieves  results  a  thousand 
times  more  brilliant,  but  they  are  at  times  less 
definite. 

"The  state  of  mind,  the  surroundings,  in  a 
word,  the  environment,  aid  in  reaching  con- 
clusions inspired  by  heroic  eloquence ;  but,  if  this 
state  of  things  be  modified,  the  resolutions  made 
in  a  moment  of  enthusiasm  are  often  regretted 
and  ill  carried  out," 

And  the  old  Greek  orator,  who  is  also  a  pro- 
found psychologist,  continues  as  follows: 


OF    ELOQUENCE  73 

''"WTio  among  us  has  not  "been  subjected  to  the 
influence  of  scenery  ? 

"Should  we  not  think  that  it  is  an  admirable 
preparation  for  the  conclusion  of  orations? 

"Wise  people  who  speak  upon  serenity  amid 
the  dazzling  bloom  of  the  flowers,  under  the  blue 
dome  of  the  sky,  have  they  not  a  precious  aid  in 
nature  ? 

"But  when  night  falls  and  the  tempest  roars, 
the  mentality  becomes  clouded  and  their  pre- 
cepts are  in  danger  of  losing  their  power  of 
persuasion,  at  least  in  the  case  of  adepts,  who 
have  been  recently  convinced. 

"This  is  why  we  must  beware  of  eloquence 
which  borrows  its  power  only  from  the  magic 
of  words  which  are  adapted  to  the  present  situa- 
tion. 

"Less  striking  but  more  efficacious  is  the  elo- 
quence which  adopts  no  artifice  and  derives 
no  benefit  from  an  abnormal  situation. 

' '  This  form  of  eloquence  is  contented  to  inter- 
pret the  truth,  demonstrate  it,  and  by  the  omni- 
potence of  speech  compel  its  admission  by  those 
whom  it  addresses." 

According  to  Xanthes,  eloquence  of  whatever 
kind  should  be  inspired  by  three  principle 
motives. 


74  SPEECH 

With  the  exactness  which  is  his  characteristic, 
he  defines  them  as  follows : 

"The  first  motive  is  justice. 

"All  polemics  ought  to  be  based  upon  this 
motive. 

"It  can  happen  that  an  unjust  principle, 
cleverly  defended,  may  have  a  chance  of  being 
favorably  received,  if  the  orator  be  full  of  talent, 
but  the  fact  is  rare. 

"The  following  are  the  reasons: 

"The  orator  may  be  himself  convinced,  by 
reason  of  an  argument  whose  point  of  departure 
is  erroneous. 

"In  this  case,  he  is  sincere  and,  if  he  be  per- 
suasive, he  will  be  able  to  convince  his  hearers 
of  its  veracity  during  a  brief  period  of  time, 
but  this  faith,  resting  upon  error,  will  crumble 
in  ruins  simultaneously  with  the  proclaimir.g  of 
the  real  truth,  and  the  disciples  of  the  orator 
will  not  be  long  in  expressing  that  scorn  which 
this  false  doctrine  deserves. 

"'We  do  not  wish  to  refer  to  the  case  where 
the  orator  recognizes  the  weak  foundation  of 
his  arguments  and  yet  he  insists  on  presenting 
them  either  from  a  feeling  of  vanity  or  because 
a  question  of  self-interest  influences  him  to  take 
this  attitude. 


OF    ELOQUENCE  75 

"But  falsehood  fails  to  impress  an  audience; 
such  arguments  almost  always  overshoot  the 
mark  which  it  is  intended  for  them  to  attain  •  like 
arrows  shot  too  violently,  they  pass  beyond  the 
target  at  which  all  public  speakers  aim,  and 
which  is  called  persuasion. 

"On  the  contrary,  at  other  times,  phrases 
which  are  uttered  with  too  little  conviction  stop 
half-way  before  reaching  the  minds  of  the  listen- 
ers, and,  like  arrows  deprived  of  force,  fall  with- 
out accomplishing  any  results. 

''It  is,  therefore,  indispensable  that  he  who 
speaks  should  be  persuaded  of  the  justice  of  the 
cause  which  he  is  defending." 

However,  Xanthes  foresees  the  case  where  a 
desire  for  the  good  or  protection  of  humanity 
will  influence  an  orator  to  argue  in  favor  of  a 
cause  which  he  knows  to  be  unjust,  and  he  ex- 
presses himself  thus: 

"One  may  object  that  many  men  of  recog- 
nized talent,  have  argued  against  their  own  con- 
viction by  proclaiming  the  innocence  of  a  guilty 
person,  whom  they  were  called  upon  to  defend. 

"However,  many  among  them  have  succeeded 
in  convincing  the  judges  of  innocence  which  they 
knew  did  not  exist. 

"This  assertion  is  true,  and  so  many  famous 


76  SPEECH 

examples  confirm  it  that  there  is  no  possibility 
of  a  doubt  as  to  its  truth, 

' '  But  one  must  not  forget  that  these  men  who 
defend  crime  are  moved  to  such  action  by  a  very 
noble  sentiment:  the  desire  of  contributing  to 
the  redemption  of  a  conscience  and  of  a  soul, 

"The  beauty  of  the  purpose  makes  them  for- 
get the  error  of  the  motive ;  they  are  not  insincere 
when  they  are  pleading  this  innocence,  because 
they  are  only  thinking  of  the  future  redemption 
of  him  whom  their  oratorical  efforts  will  be 
able  to  save  from  well-deserved  punishment. 

"The  desire  for  justice  is  often  confounded 
with  that  of  redemption. ' ' 

"We  will  not  insist  on  the  truth  of  this  opinion, 
which  might  be  that  of  a  contemporary,  because 
every  day  we  see  the  example  of  eminent  lawyers 
who  give  the  support  of  their  talent  to  acknowl- 
edged criminals,  in  favor  of  whom  they  know 
how  to  use  pathetic  accents,  making  a  fervent 
appeal  to  indulgence  with  which  every  generous 
heart  is  filled. 

The  second  motive,  according  to  Xanthes,  is 
destination. 

' '  Before  everything  a  discourse  to  be  eloquent 
should  have  a  definite  aim. 

"Whether  serious  or  frivolous,  real  or  vision- 


OF    ELOQUENCE  77 

ary,  this  purpose  will  be  exactly  outlined  in  tlie 
mind  of  the  orator ;  otherwise,  his  orations  prov- 
ing nothing  and  not  interpreting  a  definite 
theory,  it  would  be  difficult  for  him  to  direct 
the  attention  of  his  hearers  toward  an  obscure 
conclusion  which  he  himself  would  find  hard 
to  demonstrate  clearly. ' ' 

After  some  explanations  concerning  destina- 
tion, we  find  the  following  comparison  so  strik- 
ing for  the  careful  scrutiny  which  it  displays. 

"If  you  propose  to  some  friends  to  make  an 
excursion,  before  replying  they  will  begin  by 
questioning  you  about  how  much  time  it  will 
occupy  and  what  is  the  object  of  the  change. 

' '  They  will  want  to  learn  how  long  it  will  last, 
of  the  reason  for  making  it,  and  to  know  what 
acquaintances  they  will  be  able  to  make. 

"If  the  length  of  the  journey  projected  should 
exceed  their  strength,  if  the  obstacles  seemed  to 
them  too  difficult  to  surmount,  if  the  route 
seemed  to  have  no  attractions,  if,  in  fact,  they 
thought  that  they  could  not  derive  any  special 
benefit,  they  would  surely  refuse  to  accompany 
you. 

"It  might  happen,  however,  that  some  among 
them  might  join  you  at  the  outset;  but  if  they 
found  you   an  incompetent  guide,  stopping  at 


78  SPEECH 

all  the  uninteresting  wayside  places  and  choos- 
ing the  long  and  monotonous  roads  without 
knowing  exactly  where  they  lead  to,  they  will 
not  hesitate  to  leave  you,  either  to  pursue  their 
own  way  or  simply  to  return  home. 

"It  is  the  same  with  the  orator  who  mis- 
applies the  science  of  destination. 

"His  audience  follows  him  at  the  beginning 
of  his  discourse,  but  as  soon  as  they  perceive 
that  the  effort  to  do  so  is  in  vain,  they  are  less 
and  less  interested  in  his  lectures  and  finally 
refuse  to  listen  to  his  arguments  which  lead  to 
no  conclusion,  and  in  the  course  of  which  he 
becomes  bewildered  and  unable  to  solve  his 
problems. 

There  is,  according  to  Xanthes,  yet  a  third 
motive,  whose  cooperation  is  indispensable  to 
all  public  speakers:  the  principle  of  beauty. 

' '  The  quest  of  beauty, ' '  he  says, ' '  is  the  desire 
to  please  and  to  charm  while  giving  information. 

"The  trifling  signification  which  these  words 
sometime  make  should  not  be  attached  to  them 
in  this  instance. 

"Beauty  resides  in  that  which  is;  a  thinker 
will  know  how  to  discover  it  as  well  in  that 
which  is  most  humble  as  in  that  which  is  magnifi- 
cent. 


OF    ELOQUENCE  79 

"This  sentiment,  at  times  ideal,  at  others 
puerile,  is  always  essential  to  a  discourse,  in 
order  that  all  aridity  of  style  may  be  eliminated. 

' '  It  opens  up  to  the  mind  unexplored  horizons 
and  permits  us  to  develop  the  most  abstract 
subjects  without  being  diverted  from  the  study 
by  the  difficulties  which  it  presents. 

' '  The  worship  of  the  beautiful  does  not  elim- 
inate these  abstractions,  but  covers  them  with 
splendid  flowers  of  speech." 

And,  resuming  his  usual  method  of  instruction 
by  means  of  illustration,  the  old  Athenian 
master  continues: 

"A  route  will  always  seem  less  fatiguing  and 
less  wearisome,  if  we  can  stop  from  time  to 
time  and  gather  flowers,  and  if  we  have  the 
certainty  that  each  steep  path  once  climbed  will 
lead  us  to  the  discovery  of  glorious  horizons. 

*'"We  shall  have  more  courage  to  undertake  a 
new  ascent,  if  we  begin  our  journey  beholding 
wonders  that  we  have  admired  and  with  the  hope 
that  we  shall  see  others  equally  beautiful  at 
the  first  turning." 

And  he  concludes: 

''Those  who  are  to  be  pitied  are  they  who  do 

not  know  how  to  discover  the  beautiful  and  have 

only  the  fatigue  of  treading  the  pathway  wliich 
IX. t; 


80  SPEECH 

presents  no  ideal  and  is  not  illuminated  by  the 
inspirations  of  memory." 

This  philosophy  can  not  be  too  much  admired, 
because  it  is  for  those  who  wish  to  apply  it  the 
sure  means  of  enriching  the  mind  without  caus- 
ing that  repugnance  which  the  accumulation  of 
difficulties  never  fails  to  create. 

This  is  the  secret  of  many  discouragements, 
of  many  discontinued  studies,  and  is  also  the 
explanation  of  the  deserted  aspect  of  those  halls, 
in  which  many  orators  have  been  heard  whose 
merit  however  is  indisputable. 

But  just  as  Xanthes  says,  it  is  not  everything 
to  be  able  to  assemble  companions  for  a  journey, 
we  must  be  able  to  relieve  the  journey  of  its 
difficulties  or  at  least  to  meet  them  courageously 
by  awakening  in  them  the  hope  of  compensation 
at  the  journey's  end. 

One  must  know  how  to  interest  them  also, 
from  the  very  beginning,  that  they  may  forget 
their  weariness. 

One  thing  absolutely  necessary  is  to  present 
a  definite  aim. 

Who  among  you,  at  the  moment  of  starting 
on  an  excursion  up  the  mountains  has  not  looked 
up  at  the  sky  and  thought : 

'  *  If  it  be  foggy,  I  shall  not  start,  for  on  reach- 


OF    ELOQUENCE  81 

ing  the  summit  I  shall  not  be  able  to  distinguish 
anything,  and  I  do  not  consider  it  worth  while 
to  impose  on  myself  useless  fatigue." 

Young  Alpine  travelers  sometimes  make  such 
an  attempt,  but  they  are  very  careful  not  to  re- 
peat it. 

This  is  why  so  many  men  whose  scientific 
knowledge  and  talent  are  recognized  preach 
in  the  desert,  imitating  thus  the  celebrated 
apostle,  but  less  successful  than  he,  because  they 
fail  to  win  disciples. 

The  young  students  who  have  followed  such 
a  guide  have  been  so  disenchanted  by  the  un- 
interesting trip,  so  uncertain  as  to  how  it  will 
terminate,  that  they  have  eluded  an  invitation 
to  make  a  second  one.  As  to  the  others,  those 
who  know,  they  take  good  care  to  keep  out  of  the 
way. 

"A  mistake  quite  common,"  says  Xanthes, 
"is  to  imagine  that  eloquence  consists  in  redun- 
dant phrases,  in  a  superabundance  of  words 
scintillating  with  wit,  closely  packed  like  the 
arrows  in  a  quiver. 

"This  ambitious  phraseology  has  nothing  in 
common  with  true  eloquence. 

"The  latter,   far  from  indulging  in  preten- 


S2  SPEECH 

tious  words,  endeavors  to  frame  thoughts  in  a 
concise  and  graceful  diction. 

"The  sentences  should  never  be  overburdened 
with  innumerable  incidents,  nor  with  repeated 
parentheses. 

"Clearness  and  simplicity  are  the  first 
requisites  of  eloquence. 

"A  discourse  should,  above  everything  else, 
give  the  impression  of  precision  and  logical 
sequence. 

"Homogeneity  is  also  to  be  considered,  for 
it  is  due  to  the  harmony  of  structure  that  every 
element  of  the  discourse  tends  toward  the  same 
purpose. 

' '  This  leading  thought  can  be  diagnosed  under 
harmonious  phrases,  but  it  should  always  be 
uppermost  in  the  mind  of  the  orator;  he  who, 
even  for  a  moment,  loses  sight  of  the  conclusion 
of  his  discourse,  risks  being  lost  in  fatal  digres- 
sions which  will  rob  him  of  the  undivided  atten- 
tion of  his  public. 

"Now  we  have  already  stated  how  fleeting 
this  is  and  how  difiScult  it  is  to  reclaim  it  once 
it  has  been  diverted. 

"This  is  why  young  orators  can  not  be  suf- 
ficiently cautioned  against  allowing  their  atten- 
tion to  be  distracted  by  stopping  to  look  for  a 


OF    ELOQUENCE  83 

word   or   to   explain    an   argument   which   has 
momentarily  escaped  them. 

"In  the  first  instance,  the  forgotten  word 
should  be  replaced  by  a  synonym;  were  it  less 
harmonious  or  less  applicable,  one  should  not, 
however,  neglect  to  catch  the  passing  word,  even 
if  it  only  approximately  performs  the  function 
of  the  one  which  has  escaped. 

"The  same  holds  good  in  discussion. 

"However,  this  case  would  not  occur,  if  the 
discourse  were  prepared  beforehand,  as  it  is 
proper  that  all  discourses  should  be. 

' '  But  if  in  spite  of  everything  this  case  should 
present  itself,  the  orator,  instead  of  losing  his 
head,  and  what  is  worse,  of  allowing  his  public 
to  perceive  his  confusion,  should  resolutely  aban-  ' 
don  his  search  and  adopt  a  new  line  of  argument. 

"During  this  time  and  in  order  to  conceal 
his  embarrassment,  he  repeats  his  last  phrase, 
as  if  he  wished  especially  to  engrave  it  upon 
the  mind  of  his  hearers, 

"Then  he  will  make  a  pause. 

"This  pause  is  necessary,  when  it  does  not 
exceed  a  few  seconds. 

' '  In  all  discourses  this  pause  is  the  sign  which 
marks  the  termination  of  sentences  in  writings. 

"After  a  pause,  the  listener  is  advised  that  a 


«4  SPEECH 

<iifferent  argument,  if  not  also  a  new  theme,  is 
going  to  be  submitted  to  him,  and  his  attention 
is  immediately  quickened. 

"All  these  artifices  will  permit  the  lecturer 
to  construct  another  sentence,  which  should  al- 
ways be  linked  to  the  preceding  one  and  tend,  as 
have  all  those  which  he  has  previously  prepared, 
toward  the  conclusion  of  which  he  wishes  to 
convince  his  audience. 

"Another  sure  means  of  recalling  attention 
which  is  vacillating  is  to  understand  how  to 
direct  the  effects  of  opposing  ideas. 

"As  in  the  vocal  score,  so  also  in  the  contrasts 
of  a  discourse,  antitheses  are  indicated,  as 
impressive  effects. 

* '  One  can  not  repeat  too  often  that  it  is  neces- 
sary for  an  orator  so  to  hold  the  attention  of  his 
audience  that  it  can  not  be  diverted  from  what 
lie  is  saying. 

"The  qualification  of  being  eloquent  belongs 
to  him  who  keeps  possession  of  this  secret. 

"It  is  also  most  necessary  that,  by  all  possible 
means  in  his  power,  he  should  try  to  be  worthy 
of  possessing  it;  infringement  on  other's  rights 
is  a  laudable  act,  for  him  whose  powers  of  per- 
suasion compel  conviction  to  penetrate  the  mind 
•of  his  hearers. ' ' 


OF    ELOQUENCE  85 

"We  shall  explain  in  a  subsequent  chapter  in 
just  what  the  scientific  composition  of  a  dis- 
course consists. 

We  shall  also  consider  the  subject  of  imitation 
at  length. 

But  in  this  lesson,  devoted  solely  to  eloquence, 
we  shall  only  quote  from  the  pages  of  Xanthes 
that  which  relates  to  the  art  of  speaking  and 
should  be  translated  by  the  following  words: 
the  art  of  convincing. 

It  is  from  this  point  of  view  only  that  we  shall 
consider  the   following  lines: 

"One  of  the  principal  defects  of  the  inex- 
perienced orator  is  to  deliver  his  speech  too 
quickly  because  he  thinks  it  too  long — ^his  only 
idea  being  to  gain  time. 

* '  This  happens  generally  at  the  moment  when 
he  who  is  speaking  perceives  signs  of  weariness 
in  his  audience. 

''"Wishing  to  destroy  the  impression  of  length, 
the  novice  speaks  with  such  rapidity  that  he  for- 
gets the  art  of  shading  his  delivery;  now  mon- 
otony renders  everything  interminable,  and  this 
manner  of  procedure  excites  impatience  in  an 
audience. 

"If  this  is  produced,  the  young  speaker  must 
suddenly  introduce  a  phrase  which  will  produce 


86  SPEECH 

a  striking  contrast  with  the  preceding  one  in 
the  method  of  operation. 

"For  example,  if  the  phrase  exprest  is  of 
a  negative  character  spirited  language  must  be 
employed. 

"If,  on  the  contrary,  it  was  to  interpret  austere 
subjects,  a  directly  opposite  method  should  be 
used;  the  orator  picturing  to  the  mind  of  his 
audience  some  beautiful  vision,  thus  quickly 
dispelling  the  unhappy  impression  and  winning 
anew  thei''  unflagging  interest." 

Now  Xanthes  is  going  to  speak  to  us  of  in- 
numerable kinds  of  eloquence. 

"Outside  pretentious  discourse,"  he  says, 
"there  can  be  named  many  kinds  of  eloquence. 

* '  That  which  is  magnetic  and  slightly  pungent, 
altho  apparently  caressing. 

"That  which,  dictated  by  an  imperious  con- 
viction, is  the  result  of  an  inspiration,  whose 
purpose  is  revealed  in  the  form  of  a  priesthood. 

"The  familiar  crudeness  of  common  sense, 
exprest  in  terms  so  exact  that  each  word  carries 
weight  and  leaves  its  impress  upon  the  hearers, 
can  be  considered  a  form  of  eloquence. 

"Irony  is  also  at  times  a  kind  of  eloquence, 
if  it  does  not  adopt  a  satirical  style  and  if  it 
avoids  being  coarse. 


OF    ELOQUENCE  87 

"But  in  no  case  should  it  descend  to  trivial- 
ity." 

Xanthes  teaches  us  also  the  art  of  not  being 
uselessly  eloquent, 

"The  secret  of  eloquence,"  he  assures  us, 
"consists  also  in  the  art  of  choosing  for  one's 
subject  such  a  theme  as  will  interest  the  public 
who  are  called  upon  to  consider  and  criticize  it 
as  well  as  the  orator. 

"Lyrical  language  should  only  be  employed 
with  a  perfect  knowledge  of  its  application,  and 
there  are  many  cases  where  it  would  be  most 
inapplicable  and  out  of  place  in  a  particular 
part  of  one's  discourse. 

"On  the  other  hand,  there  are  circumstances 
where  the  orator  has  only  a  chance  of  success 
when  he  responds  to  the  expectations  of  his 
hearers,  that  is  to  say,  if  he  be  sufficiently  en- 
thusiastic and  keen. 

"However,  there  is  a  principle  from  which  he 
should  never  deviate : 

"In  any  case,  the  need  of  using  a  brilliant 
phrase  should  never  make  him  forget  the  art  of 
composition. 

"No  matter  what  the  public  may  be  before 
whom  he  is  called  upon  to  speak,  he  must  never 
fail  to  remember  the  degree  of  perfection  which 


88  SPEECH 

he  should  attain  in  the  most  notable  oratorical 
contests. 

"And  no  matter  how  ordinary  the  mentality 
of  his  audience,  he  must  never  forget  this  prin- 
ciple : 

"Very  few  people  have  sufficient  instruction 
to  claim  the  right  of  scorning  the  approbation 
of  the  ignorant. ' ' 


LESSON  VI 

ORATORICAL    RIVALRY   AND 
CONVERSATION 

The  art  of  public  speaking  changes  its  name 
according  to  the  length,  the  importance,  the 
nature,  and  the  kind  of  subject. 

When  it  defends  a  public  interest  or  when  its 
purpose  is  to  explain,  fundamental  truths,  it 
takes  the  name  of  discourse. 

Uttered  by  him  whose  vocation  is  to  create  a 
love  for  religion  or  to  define  a  dogma,  it  is  en- 
titled sermon. 

Less  solemn  but  always  appealing  earnestly 
to  morality  or  prescribing  a  line  of  conduct  to 
disciples  or  students,  it  adopts  the  name  of 
oration. 

Explaining  the  principles  of  a  science  to  those 
who  desire  to  be  initiated,  it  becomes  a  lecture. 

When  this  lecture  is  of  less  importance,  less 
ceremonious,  less  abstract,  better  adapted  to 
the  understanding  of  the  masses,  it  is  a  con- 
ference. 

89 


90  SPEECH 

The  speech  made  in  defense  of  an  accused 
person,  for  the  purpose  of  demonstrating  his 
innocence  or  to  attenuate  his  guilt,  is  a  speech 
for  the  defense. 

All  these  different  ways  of  speaking  in  public 
are  classed  in  the  category  of  oratorical  com- 
petition, that  is  to  say,  contests  between  elo- 
quence and  conviction. 

All  these  different  forms  of  the  art  of  speak- 
ing have  as  an  object  to  penetrate  to  the  soul 
of  man  by  means  of  persuasion. 

It  is  also  the  purpose  of  the  infinitely  more 
frivolous  art  of  chatting,  which  comprises  equal- 
ly many  classifications,  the  principal  ones  being : 

Chat; 

Conversation. 

Chat  is  a  voluntary  application  of  oratorical 
faculties  placed  at  the  disposal  of  idea,  whose 
importance  can  vary  from  the  grave  to  the 
trivial. 

Conversation  is  a  statement  verbally  exprest, 
of  a  less  exalted  character;  it  is  the  narration 
and  the  expression  of  different  opinions  on  un- 
important daily  events,  which  are  related  with- 
out any  attempt  to  analyze  the  philosophy  of 
them.  When  the  talking  assumes  a  more  learned 
aspect,  when  thought  and  psychology  become 


ORATORY    AND    CONVERSATION     91 

an  important  factor  in  the  conversation,  then 
they  become  dissertations. 

"If  the  method  of  Aristotle  be  followed," 
Xanthes  says,  ' '  the  discourse  can  be  divided  into 
three  classes,  which  permit  of  numerous  sub- 
divisions : 

''The  judicial; 

"The  deliberative; 

"The  demonstrative. 

"The  judicial  division  extends  from  the  bare 
statement  or  the  simple  admission  of  a  point  of 
law  to  the  most  impassioned  plea  on  behalf  of 
a  defendant,  for  whose  benetit  it  is  wished  to 
create  a  doubt  in  the  minds  of  his  judges. 

' '  The  deliberative  division  is  adopted  by  those 
who,  entrusted  with  interests  of  a  public  nature, 
struggle  to  obtain  laws  beneficial  to  the  people 
whose  promulgation  shall  exert  a  happy  influ- 
ence on  the  prosperity  of  the  nation. 

"The  demonstrative  kind  relates  to  education 
in  all  its  forms:  the  worship  of  the  gods,  the 
cult  of  science  or  that  of  morality. ' ' 

No  matter  whether  the  discourse  be  delivered 
for  one  purpose  or  another,  whether  it  be  des- 
tined to  vindicate  the  guilty  or  to  prove  a  great 
truth,  neither  can  escape  the  law  of  construction. 

The  orator  who  refuses  to  submit  to  it  would 


92  SPEECH 

only  give  expression  to  confused  ideas  resem- 
bling those  children's  games  whose  separate 
pieces  only  represent  a  picture  when  they  are 
put  together  in  the  order  in  which  they  were 
primarily  arranged. 

We  shall  therefore  allow  the  old  orator  to 
speak,  he  who  can  so  vividly  recall  the  greatness 
of  those  immortal  orators  living  in  the  last 
centuries  preceding  the  Christian  era,  whose 
undisputed  fame  has  lived  throughout  the  ages. 

He  says: 
'Discourse  may  be  divided  into  ten  parts: 

' '  Invention ; 

''Preparation; 

■'The  exordium; 

"Argumentation ; 

'  *  Proposition ; 

'Division; 

"Proof; 

'Refutation; 

"Peroration, 

"Invention,  while  not  springing  directly  from 
the  art  of  speaking,  is,  however,  the  foundation- 
stone  of  the  magnificent  structure  known  as  per- 
fect oratory. 

**  Invention  is  the  idea  around  which  discus- 
sions are  grouped. 


ORATORY    AND    CONVERSATION     93 

*"It  is  also  called  'the  subject',  and  on  its 
choice  depends  so  often  the  success  of  the  dis- 
course. 

' '  If  the  invention  belongs  to  a  melancholy  sub- 
ject or  one  already  well-known,  it  demands  ex- 
traordinary talent  in  order  to  awaken  interest. 

''It  is  besides  exceedingly  disagreeable  to 
discourse  on  a  subject  already  often  discust, 
because  one  is  in  danger  of  committing  plagiar- 
ism, for,  altho  one  believes  that  he  has  exprest 
original  ideas,  he  has  in  reality  only  repeated 
opinions  already  set  forth  by  preceding  orators. 

' '  Except  in  the  case  of  rare  moral  courage,  one 
will  be  more  influenced  by  convictions  already 
declared,  and  the  work  of  invention  will  be  in- 
creased by  the  absorbing  desire  to  escape  the 
slavery  of  strange  impressions. 

"One  will  also  have  to  struggle  against  en- 
thusiasm of  long  duration  and  against  deeply 
rooted  beliefs,  which  give  the  appearance  of  a 
debate  to  the  presentation  of  simple  arguments 
if  they  do  not  conform  to  those  arguments  which 
the  public  has  already  admitted. 

"Invention,  or  the  choice  of  the  subject,  is 
therefore,  according  to  this  understanding,  a 
primordial  question  for  the  orator  who  desires  to 
be  heard  and  ....  to  be  sincerely  applauded. 


94  SPEECH 

' '  There  are  two  methods  of  interpretation : 

"Graphic  preparation; 

"Mental  preparation. 

"The  first  offers  the  advantage  of  permitting 
an  orator  to  coordinate  his  ideas  and  to  classify 
them  in  the  order  in  which  he  wishes  to  present 
them. 

"However,  we  can  only  recommend  this 
method  for  those  who  speak  from  notes. 

' '  Certain  orators  write  their  whole  discourses ; 
then  they  re-read  them,  correct  them,  perfect 
them,  and  learn  them  by  heart. 

"This  can  only  be  profitable  in  the  case  where 
they  are  absolutely  certain  of  the  fidelity  of  their 
memory  and  of  the  absence  of  interruptions. 

"Imagine  an  orator  of  this  kind,  losing  his 
memory  and  thrown  out  of  his  course  toward 
the  abyss  of  ridicule,  unable  to  find  the  proper 
phrase  which  will  extricate  him  from  his  em- 
barrassment. 

"This  danger,  terror  of  all  public  speakers, 
can  not  befall  those  who  resort  to  the  mental 
method,  for  they  acquire,  by  the  use  of  the  latter, 
a  subtleness  of  wit  and  a  skill  in  supplying 
the  requisite  thought  that  the  first  will  never 
understand. 

"One  must  also  remember  that  the  constant 


ORATORY    AND    CONVERSATION     95 

thought  of  being  at  the  mercy  of  interruption 
detracts  from  an  orator's  magnetic  and  per- 
suasive powers. 

"And  the  discourses  committed  to  memory 
■are  always  uttered  with  less  spontaneity  than 
those  where  the  orator  unfolds  his  arguments  in 
a  moment  of  intense  feeling. 

"In  a  word,  one  can  not  think  of  the  waste  of 
time  and  strength  which  the  written  method 
necessitates  without  a  feeling  of  disapproval. 

"It  is  also  an  additional  burden  for  the  brain 
of  the  orator,  who  is  required  to  unite  the  written 
expression  of  his  conceptions  and  the  picture 
of  his  mental  perceptions, 

* '  Let  us  remember  also  that  ideas  thus  imprest 
upon  the  public  are  effaced  from  the  memory 
as  quickly  as  they  are  developed. 

' '  Mental  training  is  the  method  adopted  by  all 
great  orators. 

"Improvisation  is  rarely  resorted  to  on  the 
rostrum. 

"It  is  almost  always  the  result  of  a  series  of 
meditations,  during  which  the  subject  on  which 
one  is  called  to  speak  in  an  improvised  fashion, 
has  already  been  examined  and  discust. 

"Mental  training  is  sometimes  aided  by  hav- 
ing notes,  but  these  notes  are  only  ideas  trans- 

1X.7 


96  SPEECH 

lerred  to  paper  for  reference  rather  than  ampli- 
fied conceptions,  and  are  jotted  down  only  to  be 
consulted  to  refresh  the  memory  at  the  oppor- 
tune moment. 

"Upon  these  notes  the  orator  will  build  his 
discourse. 

"At  first  he  will  think  it  out,  awaiting  the 
moment  when  his  thought  is  freed  from  the 
chaos  of  hesitation. 

' '  Then  he  will  speak  aloud  his  thought ;  he  will 
interpret  it  by  spoken  words;  he  will  demon- 
strate it  by  means  of  phrases. 

"Every  one  knows  the  magic  power  of  the 
spoken  word. 

"The  orator  will  thus  be  able  to  apply  the 
laws  of  auto-suggestion,  by  becoming  impreg- 
nated with  the  idea  which  is  imbued  with  living 
force  by  the  power  of  the  spoken  word. 

"This  method  of  procedure  is  all  the  more 
efficacious  because  it  recalls  to  the  mind  what 
one  has  heard,  and  is  not  only  more  advantageous 
but  a  thousand  times  more  useful  for  the  orator 
than  the  recollection  of  what  he  has  seen  or  than 
the  mechanical  memorizing  of  words. 

"This  last  method  should  be  absolutely  ban- 
ished by  the  speaker  who  is  concerned  with  the 
cultivation  of  true  eloquence,  for  it  is  opposed 


ORATORY    AND    CONVERSATION     97 

to  all  outbursts  of  genius  and  gives  to  extempor- 
aneous speaking,  of  no  matter  what  kind,  the 
appearance  of  a  lesson  which  has  been  committed 
to  memory  and  then  recited,  more  or  less  per- 
fectly. 

"Therefore,  one  who  prepares  a  discourse 
should  above  all  devote  himself  to  meditating 
on  it. 

"As  soon  as  he  is  absorbed  in  his  subject,  he 
should  try  to  improvise  on  such  parts  of  it 
as  seem  to  him  the  best  calculated  to  excite  his 
inspiration, 

"He  should  endeavor  to  present  his  idea  in 
such  a  way  as  to  have  it  fully  appreciated  and 
to  foresee  all  the  effects. 

"He  should  strive  to  classify  it  by  an  exact- 
ness of  expression,  thus  impressing  the  minds 
of  others  by  the  truthfulness  of  the  represen- 
tation, 

"Then  he  should  frame  his  picture  in  a  beau- 
tiful and  appropriate  phrase. 

"He  should  first  say  to  himself,  in  thought, 
all  the  words  which  he  is  to  repeat  in  public, 
then  say  them  aloud. 

"His  chief  object  should  be  concerning  the 
order  in  which  he  is  going  to  place  the  problems 
which  he  proposes  to  solve. 


98  SPEECH 

* '  Classification,  as  well  as  form,  is  of  inestim- 
able value, 

"The  solidity  of  discourse  depends  always 
upon  coordination. 

"It  is  also  necessary  first  to  classify  the  notes 
according  to  degrees  of  intensity,  at  the  same 
time  endeavoring  to  arrange  them  in  the  order 
convenient  to  any  desired  change. 

' '  Improvisation  can  be  valuable  only  after  the 
discourse  has  been  first  thought  out. 

"He  who  risks  speaking  on  a  subject  upon 
which  he  has  not  meditated  is  in  danger  of  for- 
getting what  he  wanted  to  say  or  of  presenting 
prolix  and  illogical  arguments." 

Now  Xanthes  speaks  to  us  of  the  different 
phases  of  public  speaking,  by  giving  us  a  knowl- 
edge and  understanding,  inspired  by  the  great 
orators  who  preceded  him. 

"The  exordium  is  the  beginning  of  the  dis- 
course, the  phrase  by  which  one  explains  the 
necessity  which  there  is  to  deliver  it;  it  is  the 
preparation  at  the  opening  of  the  speech. 

"For  a  skilful  orator,  this  is  the  svire  way  to 
attract  the  attention  of  his  audience,  for  he  will 
know,  from  the  first  words  of  his  preface,  how 
to  arouse  the  interest  of  his  public. 

"The  exordium  should   never  be  prolonged 


ORATORY    AND    CONVERSATION     99 

for  any  length  of  time,  for  the  patience  of  an 
audience  desirous  of  knowing  the  details  of  the 
subject  under  discussion  should  never  be  too 
severely  tested ;  disapproval  would  be  manifested 
whose  effect  would  be  to  lessen  their  admiration 
of  the  discourse. 

"The  expert  and  self-possest  orator  will  pass 
rapidly  over  the  few  phrases  of  the  exordium, 
in  order  to  present  the  proposition. 

"The  proposition  is  the  subject  of  the  dis- 
course clearly  analyzed ;  it  is  the  very  concise 
and  very  explicit  presentation  of  this  subject, 
explained  so  as  to  have  it  understood  by  those 
who  have  come  to  listen  and  profit  thereby. 

"The  proposition  itself  comprises  many 
divisions,  of  which  the  principal  is  the  narration. 

"This  phase  consists  in  a  brief  but  very  de- 
tailed logical  synopsis  of  the  subject  to  be 
developed. 

"This  recital  having  been  completed,  the 
orator  should  proceed  to  discuss  the  explanatory 
principle. 

"After  this,  he  should  announce  the  deduc- 
tion, that  is  to  say,  mention  the  reasons  which 
argue  in  its  favor  and  those  which  seem  to 
be  against  it,  in  order  to  state  in  explicit  terms 
the  relation  between  the  two. 


100  SPEECH 

"Deduction  is  subdivided  therefore  into  two 
parts : 

"Affirmation; 

"Negation. 

"All  judgment  affirms  or  denies." 

We  shall  not  follow  Xanthes  in  those  con- 
siderations whose  interest  lies  beyond  the  limits 
of  this  work ;  every  one  knows  that  an  affirmation 
is  a  confirmation  of  expounded  truths,  while  a 
negation  is  the  refusal  to  admit  them. 

But  these  two  forms  of  judgment  call  forth  a 
mental  operation  which  the  Greek  orator  classi- 
fies as  the  phases  of  the  discourse  and  which  he 
calls  the  proof. 

"The  proof,"  he  says,  "  is  the  sanction  of  the 
affirmation." 

"It  is  not  sufficient  for  an  orator  to  say,  that 
is  true.  If  he  wishes  to  make  an  impression  on 
his  public,  he  should  submit  to  it  arguments 
tending  to  prove  that  his  conviction  is  based  on 
such  absolute  truths  that  it  is  impossible  not  to 
be  forcibly  imprest  by  them. 

"The  proof,  when  it  is  applied  to  the  demon- 
stration of  what  is  false,  takes  the  name  of 
refutation. 

"It  is  sometimes  easier  to  refute  than  to 
prove,  but  as  the  proof  of  the  affirmative,  the 


ORATORY    AND    CONVERSATION  101 

refutation,  in  order  to  make  a  deep  impression 
on  the  public,  should  consist  of  ratified  argu- 
ments, resting  on  foundations  established  be- 
tween the  opposite  conviction  and  the  affirmation 
which  one  wishes  to  reduce  to  the  non-existent. 

"It  must  be  agreed,  if  it  be  not  a  question  of  a 
self-evident  truth,  that  a  clever  orator  will  always 
understand  just  how  to  state  his  propositions  so 
that  they  will  impress  his  public,  whether  he  is  re- 
solved to  prove  the  affirmative  or  to  refute  it. 

"The  peroration,  or  conclusion  of  the  dis- 
course, should  never  depend  on  inspiration. 

"It  always  consists  of  a  sentence,  explaining 
the  necessity  for  the  discourse;  this  phrase 
should  be  so  constructed  as  to  embody  poetic 
style  and  elegance  of  expression. 

"We  should  not  forget  that  the  last  words  of 
a  discourse  resound  in  the  ears  of  the  hearer 
a  long  time  after  the  last  vibrations  have  ceased 
to  agitate  the  etheric  waves. 

' '  These  words  ought,  therefore,  to  be  conceived 
and  spoken  in  so  expressive  a  manner  that  they 
stand  out  more  prominently  than  all  those 
previously  uttered  and  that  the  audience  may 
find  in  them  the  essential  synthesis  of  the  dis- 
course, presented  in  just  the  way  that  the  orator 
desired  to  have  it  appraised  by  them." 


102  SPEECH 

We  shall  refer  again  to  the  elements  of  the  dis- 
course which  are  subject  to  the  rules  of  elo- 
quence. 

Eloquence  may  be  simple,  lyric,  impassioned, 
or  argumentative. 

It  is  sometimes  intuitive  and  evolves  its  most 
telling  arguments  from  an  instinctively  logical 
mind. 

Eloquence  at  times  springs  from  an  ardent 
desire  to  defend  some  noble  cause  and  to  win  as 
many  adherents  among  the  audience  as  there 
are  generous-hearted  people. 

But,  in  order  that  it  may  soar  without  being 
hindered  by  material  difficulties,  it  should  be 
subjected  to  close  study  whose  character  we 
shall  designate  in  the  next  chapter. 

We  are  now  going  to  look  over  together  the 
pages  where  Xanthes  speaks  to  us  of  conver- 
sation. 

This  kind  of  oratorical  art  was  the  one  above 
all  cultivated  by  the  ancients  in  the  form  of 
dialog. 

** Speech,"  says  Xanthes,  "often  drops  the 
pretentious  form  of  oratory  to  adopt  the  more 
simple  one  of  conversation. 

"This  happens  when  the  orator  finds  himself 
surrounded  by  thinkers  who  are  his  intellectual 


ORATORY    AND    CONVERSATION  103 

equals  and  who  are  all  capable  of  understanding 
him. 

"It  would  be  entirely  out  of  place  to  employ 
the  emphatic  tone,  chiefly  because  those  whom 
he  is  addressing  are  already  convinced  of  the 
truth  of  these  same  principles. 

"Dissertation,  then,  takes  the  title  of  conver- 
sation; that  is,  each  one  in  turn  expresses  his 
opinion  or  retorts  an  argument  without  troubling 
himself  to  observe  the  laws  of  eloquence. 

"However,  young  orators,  who  devote  much 
of  their  time  to  conversation,  can  not  be  too 
strongly  urged  to  pay  great  attention  to  their 
manner  of  conversing  and  to  avoid  confusion  of 
ideas.  Conversation  can  be  made  an  excellent 
preparation  for  the  development  of  a  talent  for 
public  speaking. 

"Sometimes  it  adopts  a  familiar  tone,  when  it 
concerns  ordinary  topics,  which  have  only  an 
every-day  interest. 

**  Conversation  becomes  dialog  when  it  relates 
to  an  opinion  exprest  by  one  party  and  an  op- 
posite opinion  debated  by  another  person. 

"Many  celebrated  authors  have  collected  these 
dialogs  forming  valuable  specimens  of  this  phase 
of  eloquence,  which  tradition  has  religiously 
preserved. ' ' 


104  SPEECH 

The  Athenian  orator  speaks  briefly  of  the 
chat  about  which  he  says  only  a  few  words. 

The  chat  is,  in  reality,  quite  a  modern  ac- 
complishment. 

It  responds  to  our  need  of  a  medium  for  the 
exchange  of  ideas  on  the  subject  of  art,  of  poetry, 
or  of  sentiment. 

It  is  no  longer  a  question  of  combating  ad- 
versaries ;  one  cares  little  about  convincing  them ; 
we  almost  desire  to  find  them  of  a  different 
opinion,  if  only  to  see  a  new  horizon  loom  up 
before  us. 

The  chat  is  also  a  commentary  on  events 
which  concern  those  who  are  assembled  to  dis- 
cuss subjects  of  common  interest. 

Sometimes  this  chat  is  a  narration  of  details 
about  which  each  one  thinks  differently;  these 
details  are  discust  one  by  one,  and  are  criti- 
cized adversely  by  some,  praised  by  others,  or 
even  ridiculed  by  many. 

The  causerie,  or  chat,  was  highly  esteemed 
in  France  in  the  seventeenth  century. 

The  favorite  place  for  meeting  was  the  Hotel 
Rambouillet,  and  it  was  there  that  great  nobles, 
literary  people,  women  remarkable  for  their 
intellectual  brilliancy  as  well  as  for  their  high 
rank,  used  to  gather. 


ORATORY    AND    CONVERSATION  105 

Among  these  aristocratic  souls  the  taste  for 
daily  talks  was  developed,  whose  tendency,  at 
once  refined,  elegant,  and  profound,  had,  no  less 
than  learned  criticism,  a  certain  influence  on 
the  manners  and  literature  of  the  epoch. 

Some  years  later,  the  celebrated  Ninon  de 
Lenclos  built  a  temple  dedicated  to  la  causerie 
in  her  salon  in  the  Rue  des  Tournellas,  where  she 
reigned  supreme  for  long  years,  presiding  at 
the  reunions  where  this  oratorical  art  was  held 
in  veneration  as  the  school  of  good  form,  good 
taste,  and  delicacy  of  sentiment. 

Many  years  have  passed  since  then ;  our  fever- 
ish generation  scarcely  permits  any  longer  of 
these  harmonious  gatherings  of  people  to  whom 
a  strenuous  existence  is  unknown. 

Our  contemporaries  speak  but  they  rarely 
have  the  time  to  chat. 

However,  there  are  some  privileged  circles 
where  artistic  occupations  take  precedence  of 
material  interests. 

In  those  circles,  people  are  not  contented  to 
speak;  they  chat,  that  is  to  say,  they  exchange 
ideas. 

At  times,  as,  according  to  the  custom  in 
ancient  Greece,  the  philosophers  discoursed  in 
an  atmosphere  redolent  with  the  perfumes  of 


106  SPEECH 

gardens  sheltered  from  the  burning  rays  of  a 
southern  sun,  there  are  to  be  found  in  our  day 
cultured  people  who,  in  the  sympathetic  environ- 
ments of  a  secluded  salon,  sheltered  from  the 
cruel  glare  of  electric  lamps,  are  delighted  to  talk 
about  the  miracles  of  science  which  they  perform 
or  of  the  beauties  of  the  art  which  they  prize. 
That  is  the  house  where  one  may  chat,  a  rare 
wonder,  which  the  initiated  conceal  from  the 
gaze  of  the  vulgar  crowd  with  jealous  care,  as  a 
miser  hides  his  treasures  from  public  sight. 
These  are  of  Xanthes'  opinion,  who  says: 
"A  beautiful  thought  beautifully  exprest  is 
worth  far  more  than  any  jewel." 


LESSON  TM 

HOW   TO    ACQUIRE    THE   ART   OF 
SPEAKING 

Before  proceeding  to  what  might  be  called 
the  mechanism  of  eloquence,  the  young  orator 
should  be  imbued  with  certain  principles,  the 
observance  of  which  will  insure  his  future 
success. 

Eloquence  is  sometimes  a  gift,  but  it  is  more 
often  an  art;  nature  never  will  give  that  which 
study  accomplishes,  and  really  noble  sentiments 
can  only  gain  in  beauty  and  value  by  being 
exprest  according  to  the  rules  of  rhetoric. 

If,  however,  he  who  is  destined  to  oratorical 
contests  be  naturally  gifted,  study  will  only 
serve  to  reinforce  his  power  by  directing  and 
guiding  the  development  of  his  natural  gifts. 

What  he  lacks  intuitively  can  be  supplied 
by  disciplining  and  exercising  those  faculties 
which  are  defective. 

There  are  very  few  people  who,  under  the 
influence  of  a  strong  emotion,  would  not  be 
capable  of  an  ephemeral  eloquence;  but,  if  it 

107 


108  SPEECH 

were  a  question  of  attack,  of  defense,  or  of 
proving  with  skill  and  authority,  the  majority- 
would  succumb  to  the  difficulties  of  a  task,  had 
they  not  been  smoothed  by  methodical  study. 

Another  result  of  study  is  that  one  achieves 
the  maximum  of  intellectual  development  with 
the  minimum  of  effort. 

Expert  orators  thus  often  save  a  waste  of 
strength,  while  inexperienced  speakers,  ignoring 
the  necessity  of  such  economy,  acquire  a  style 
of  oratory  which  is  involved  and  often  devoid  of 
any  productive  power. 

It  is  possible,  according  to  Xanthes,  to  divide 
study  as  applied  to  the  art  of  oratory  in  two 
sections  totally  different: 

^The  study  of  thought  and  its  materialization ; 

The  study  of  mechanism  or  involuntary  action. 

In  this  chapter,  we  are  going  to  speak  of  the 
first  part. 

It  must  not  be  inferred,  however,  that  the  two 
courses  of  study  are  to  be  pursued  in  the  order 
in  which  they  are  named. 

On  the  contrary,  it  is  indispensable  that  they 
should  march  abreast;  far  from  being  harmful, 
this  order  permits  one  course  to  supplement  the 
other  and  both  to  cooperate  in  creating  the 
talent  which  characterizes  the  perfect  orator. 


HOW    TO    ACQUIRE    IT  109 

''The  principal  defect  of  the  novice,"  says 
Xanthes,  "is  the  eonfusion  or,  to  speak  more 
exactly,  the  profusion  of  words,  whose  inaccurate 
mass  just  haunts  his  brain. 

"He  should  then  make  a  choice  of  all  these 
verbal  elements  which  assail  his  mind  and  should 
apply  them  to  each  object  which  they  seem  to 
define  with  perfect  accuracy. 

"From  the  moment  that  .he  becomes  suf- 
ficiently master  of  himself  to  designate  only 
one  name  for  each  object,  the  future  orator  will 
construct  short  phrases,  in  which  this  same  object 
will  be  identified  by  a  distinctive  name,  which 
belonged  to  it  from  the  beginning. 

"Following  this,  he  will  endeavor  to  enrich 
his  vocabulary  of  synonymous  terms  and,  in 
phrases  a  little  longer,  he  will  mention  the  same 
thing  two  or  three  times,  each  time  using  a 
different  word. 

"The  practise  of  this  exercise  will  render  in- 
valuable service  to  the  orator  if,  later  on,  dur- 
ing a  discourse,  the  word  sought  chances  to 
escape  him. 

"This  misfortune  will  happen  less  frequently 
to  him  than  to  such  as  have  never  familiarized 
themselves  with  this  method;  but,  in  case  this 


110  SPEECH 

lacuna  should  be  created,  his  habitual  studies 
would  permit  him  to  fill  it  instantaneously. 

"Another  drawback,  the  terror  of  young 
orators,  is  the  sudden  failure  of  memory,  which 
embarrasses  them,  makes  them  incapable  of  re- 
membering the  order  of  their  discourse  and  the 
connection  between  the  sentences. 

* '  This  loss  of  inemory  never  lasts  for  any 
length  of  time,  and,  if  the  discourse  has  been  well 
thought  out,  it  will  not  be  long  before  the  mind 
of  the  orator  regains  its  powers ;  but  on  this  mo- 
ment of  oblivion  may  depend  his  reputation. 

"It  is  therefore  essential  for  him  who  wishes 
to  avoid  this  shock  to  arm  himself  against  all 
possibility  of  forgetfulness,  by  cultivating  the 
art  of  improvisation. 

"He  should  force  himself  to  improvise  a  few 
short  phrases  every  day,  a  different  subject  for 
each  day. 

"This  habit  will  protect  him  with  a  partial 
forgetfulness,  because,  in  the  case  where  the 
anticipated  argument  should  fail,  it  would  be 
easy  to  substitute  another  which  the  newly  ac- 
quired habit  would  instantly  suggest. 

"A  defect  not  less  menacing  is  the  difficulty 
of  expressing  a  comprehensive  thought  in  a  few 
words.    We  have  already  spoken  of  the  dangers 


HOW    TO    ACQUIRE    IT  111 

of  prolixity  and  one  can  not  be  too  careful  to 
guard  against  them. 

"It  will,  therefore,  be  well  for  the  future 
orator  to  practise  the  condensing  of  a  proposi- 
tion, without  for  this  reason  diminishing  the 
force  of  it. 

*'An  exercise  not  less  essential  to  intelligent 
oratory  is  the  power  to  form  a  sentence  and,  by 
repeating  it  with  a  different  kind  of  termination, 
leave  nothing  of  the  original  phrase  but  the 
fundamental  idea. 

"For  example,  the  following  phrase  being 
given : 

"  'Good  deeds  are  the  inheritance  of  good 
people,'  only  the  following  words  will  remain: 
'good  deeds,'  and  we  shall  endeavor  to  find  a 
different  attribute  for  them,  but  always  in  con- 
formity with  the  spirit  of  the  first  phrase: 
"  'Good  deeds  are  the  fortune  of  the  poor.' 
"  'Good  deeds  are  only  understood  by  the 
chosen  few,'  etc. 

'''Then,  using  phrases  already  constructed, 
one  may  have  the  comprehensive  proposition 
followed  by  relative  propositions,  which  will 
expand  and  amplify  it. 

"During  all  of  the  technical  studies,  the  aim 
of  the  novice  should  be  clearness  of  expression. 

l\.H 


112  SPEECH 

* '  It  is  not  sufficient  simply  to  understand  one- 
self, for  beside  the  complacence  which  each  one 
is  tempted  to  bring  to  bear  on  the  matter,  we 
can  succeed  in  understanding  our  thought  with- 
out the  aid  of  words. 

* '  One  must,  therefore,  put  himself  in  the  hear- 
er's  place  and  repeat  the  words,  regardless  of 
their  meaning,  in  order  to  concentrate  only  on 
the  auditory  understanding  of  them, 

"In  many  eases,  the  speaker  must  admit  that, 
if  he  does  not  comprehend  his  own  thought,  it 
would  be  extremely  difficult  for  him  to  disengage 
it  from  the  confused  mass  of  words  which  compli- 
cates and  conceals  it. 

**To  create  conviction,  the  first  condition  is 
the  power  of  impressing  other  minds  forcibly 
through  the  medium  of  word-pictures  which 
attract  and  hold  their  attention. 

* '  Confusion  will  always  be  the  enemy  of  sym- 
pathy which  must  be  established  between  the 
orator  and  his  audience. 

"When  all  these  principles  have  been  fully 
developed  and  faithfully  observed,  it  will  then 
be  time  for  the  young  orator  to  begin  the  prac- 
tise of  speaking,  by  interesting  himself  in  all 
that  pertains  to  mentality,  intelligence,  and 
experience. 


HOW    TO    ACQUIRE    IT  113 

**One  of  his  daily  duties  should  then  be  the 
enlargement  of  his  vocabulary. 

"Poverty  of  terminology  rarely  accompanies 
Tvealth  of  mentality;  poverty  of  expression,  in 
any  ease,  is  a  serious  obstacle  to  the  success  of 
the  orator. 

"The  acquiring  of  some  appellations,  some 
expressions,  some  new  definitions  will,  therefore, 
be  an  object  to  be  pursued  daily. 

"He  will  be  able  to  make  a  wise  application 
of  them  in  daily  conversation,  there  where 
liberty  of  composition,  change  of  subjects,  free- 
dom of  style  permit  one  to  use  all  kinds  of 
rhetorical  construction  and  to  allow  the  imag- 
ination to  soar  to  heights  which  the  exigencies 
of  public  speaking  do  not  allow. 

"One  of  the  subtle  devices  of  oratorical  art 

consists   in   employing  certain  typical  phrases 

which  permit  the  speaker  to  await  the  return 

i_   of  a  thought  which  has  momentarily  escaped 

him. 

"Let  us  hasten  to  remark  that,  these  phrases 
being  almost  always  of  a  trivial  nature,  we  do 
not  counsel  the  use  of  them  except  in  the  case 
cited  above. 

*  *  However,  the  prudent  orator  will  be  the  one 
who  stores  them  in  his  memory,  as  we  often  set 


114  SPEECH 

aside  objects  of  little  value  which  may  become 
necessary  to  us  at  some  future  day." 

And  Xanthes  counsels  the  acquisition  of  these 
helpful  phrases,  which  every  public  speaker 
should,  in  fact,  have  at  his  disposal,  in  case  of 
need,  such  as: 

**I  should  not  wish  to  force  upon  you  my  con- 
victions, however  ..." 

"I  should  have  liked  to  explain  to  you  better 
than  I  did  ..." 

**For  to-day,  I  shall  limit  myself  to  sub- 
mitting to  you  . 

**Is  it  necessary  to  insist  further 

**  There  are  truths  which  it  is  impossible  not 
to  acknowledge." 

In  the  case  where  an  orator  might  wish  to 
relate  an  anecdote,  referring  to  a  heroic  deed 
of  which  he  was  the  hero : 

"1  beg  your  pardon  for  mentioning  a  reminis- 
cence of  a  personal  nature,  but  ..." 

Or  again: 

"And,  referring  to  this  subject,  I  shall 
ask   permission   to  recall  a  personal   reminis- 


cence  .  .  .  " 


"However,"  adds  Xanthes,  "the  cultured 
orator  scorns  these  subterfuges  and  resolves 
to  use  them  only  in  extreme  cases.' 


j> 


HOW    TO    ACQUIRE    IT  116 

Illustrating  this  teaching  by  example,  he  con- 
tinues : 

"Have  you  never  seen  experienced  sailors 
embark  on  a  dangerous  voyage? 

"Notwithstanding  the  staunchness  of  their 
ship,  their  indisputable  skill  as  mariners,  they 
rarely  neglect  to  carry  with  them  belts  made  of 
thin  wooden  plates,  which  they  intend  to  use  as 
life-saving  appliances  to  support  them  on  the 
surface  of  the  water  in  case  of  shipwreck. 

"These  instruments  serve  only  one  purpose, 
that  of  allowing  them  to  wait  for  a  vessel  to 
save  them. 

"Those  who  would  scorn  this  succor  would  be 
considered  imprudent,  because  this  disdain 
might  cost  them  their  lives. 

"The  phrases  of  which  we  have  just  been 
speaking  play  the  part  of  life-belts  in  a  dis- 
course; they  are  intended  to  prevent  the  ship- 
wreck of  the  orator  in  the  ocean  of  forgetful- 
ness,  and  to  allow  him  to  await  the  return  of 
memory  or  that  not  less  desirable  gift,  presence 
of  mind. 

"Many  talents,"  Xanthes  reiterates,  "are  in- 
dispensable to  the  formation  of  a  good  orator. 

"We  have  already  warned  him  against  a 
formidable  enemy:  diffuseness. 


116  SPEECH 

**He  can  not  distrust  too  much  the  improper 
use  of  paraphrases. 

"He  should  seek  for  elegance  in  the  arrange-' 
ment  of  his  words. 

"He  must  not  make  a  mistake  about  this  last 
qualification  and  confound  elegance  with  affec- 
tation. 

"Elegance  of  composition  exists  as  well  in  a 
poetic  or  in  a  tender  style  as  in  virile  exhorta- 
tions or  warlike  declarations, 

"It  is  the  opposite  of  vulgarity;  it  can  be 
cynical  or  enthusiastic,  simple  or  complex,  but 
it  will  always  command  attention  if  properly 
exprest. ' ' 

The  natural  tone,  attained  by  practising  the 
exercises  of  which  we  shall  speak  in  the  next 
chapter,  is  the  tone  that  all  orators  should  strive 
to  acquire. 

In  order  to  master  it  the  old  Athenian  advises 
the  following  procedure: 

He  recommends  us  to  take  a  very  short  and 
familiar  phrase  and  to  render  it  in  the  tone  in 
which  we  would  read  it  if  it  were  enriched  by 
commentaries. 

"Let  us  take,**  says  he,  "the  most  ordinary 
phrase : 

"/  do  not  know,  and  let  us  practise  saying 


HOW    TO   ACQUIRE    IT  117 

it  with  the  intonation  which  the  circumstances 
under  which  it  is  uttered  demand. 

"First  negligence.  We  understand  by  this, 
that  this  question  is  of  little  value;  I  scorn  to 
examine  it  closely ;  it  is  impossible  for  me,  there- 
fore, to  speak  of  it,  and  we  utter :  I  do  not  know. 

* '  The  slight  regret,  understood :  I  should  have 
had  pleasure  to  inform  you,  but  I  do  not  know. 

' '  The  grudge :  How  happy  I  should  be  to  know 
the  intentions  which  have  dictated  that  act,  but 
I  have  sought  in  vain:  /  do  not  know. 
-^* Anger:  And  to  say  that  at  this  moment 
perhaps  they  are  concocting  a  plot  against  me, 
and  it  is  impossible  for  me  to  defend  myself, 
since  I  do  not  know. 

''Grief:  Perhaps  my  dearest  friend  has  dis- 
appeared in  this  war,  but,  whatever  I  may  have 
been  able  to  do,  it  has  been  impossible  for  me  to 
be  sure  of  the  fact :  I  do  not  know. 

"Discussion:  if  I  had  been  taught  that  art, 
I  should  be  able  to  speak  in  public,  but  .  .  . 
/  do  not  know. 

"At  first,  it  will  be  well  to  practise  with  the 
aid  of  the  phrase  understood,  then  it  should  be 
set  aside  in  order  to  enunciate  the  typical  phrase 
only,  which  must  be  spoken  with  the  proper 
intonations. 


118  SPEECH 

**To  observe  scrupulously  the  difference  in 
the  shades  of  meaning  is  one  of  the  charms  of 
public  speaking. 

"He  who  knows  how,  through  the  medium  of 
delicate  transitions,  to  pass  from  elaboration  to 
simplicity  and  from  pathos  to  coldness  will  feel 
his  audience  vibrate  under  the  influence  of  his 
words. 

' '  The  part  played  by  the  voice  is  also  of  para- 
mount importance,  and  its  transformations  are 
always  of  a  character  to  stimulate  renewed  at- 
tention. 

"The  change  of  register  also  indicates  a  dis- 
traction  and  breaks  the  accompanying  monotony 
of  the  discourse. 

"From  the  first  syllable  the  voice  reveals  a 
modification  in  the  feeling  and  in  the  idea. 

"  It  is  also  well  to  practise  underlining  lightly 
a  word  which  we  desire  to  emphasize. 

"Sometimes  it  is  an  entire  phrase  which  we 
wish  to  place  in  such  a  manner  as  to  give  full 
value  to  the  idea  that  it  is  intended  to  express. 

' '  There  are  many  ways  of  underlining. 

"The  first  is  to  be  found  in  the  articulation. 

"The  other  in  the  increased  or  diminished 
volume  of  the  voice. 

'  *  Whichever  may  be  the  case,  it  is  an  excellent 


HOW    TO    ACQUIRE    IT  119 

artifice  to  strengthen  the  tie  which  holds  the 
attention  of  the  hearers." 

Turning  over  a  few  more  pages,  we  find  advice 
concerning  the  first  appearance  of  orators. 

"From  the  time  that  the  budding  orator  feels 
himself  sufiiciently  equipped,  from  the  moment 
he  thinks  that  he  can  be  a  victor  in  the  struggle 
against  the  thousands  of  enemies  which  stand 
upon  the  threshold  of  his  career,  he  should  take 
advantage  of  all  his  acquisitions. 
—  "He  should  embrace  every  opportunity  to 
speak  in  public  and  should  not  fail  to  do  so, 
if  only  by  making  the  most  ordinary  remarks, 
thus  inducing  discussions. 

'The  greatest  harmony  will  always  exist  be- 
tween his  words  and  his  thoughts ;  he  will  banish 
timidity,  the  mother  of  embarrassment,  will  take 
into  account  the  advice  of  his  superiors,  and  will 
endeavor  to  speak  only  wisely. 
-^"When  the  moment  comes  to  make  his  first 
appearance  in  public,  he  should  first  select  care- 
fully the  place  where  he  is  going  to  speak. 

"This  is  of  paramount  importance,  because 
speeches  should  always  be  adapted  to  the  place 
where  they  are  given. 

' '  In  the  open  air,  the  voice  will  expand  more 
easily,  the  phrases  will  be  amplified,  and  the 


120  SPEECH 

rhythm  of  the  sentences  will  be  more  vigorous. 
.^^  "In  a  lecture-room,  the  shades  of  meaning  will 
be  more  definitely  indicated,  and  one  will  be 
able,  from  time  to  time,  to  abandon  the  preten- 
tious style,  to  use  a  more  simple  and  more  natural 
tone  of  voice. 

"It  is,  therefore,  essential  that  one  should  be 
accurately  informed  about  the  place  where  one 
is  to  appear,  and,  if  it  be  possible,  to  try  the 
acoustics,  for  one  must  always  guard  against 
repeated  vibrations,  which,  by  prolonging  the 
last  syllable  of  each  word,  produce  confused 
sounds  in  the  ears  of  the  hearers. 

"The  construction  of  the  auditorium  should 
also  be  considered. 

"The  public  should  be  addrest  in  a  lan- 
guage which  it  is  capable  of  understanding,  for 
he  who  expresses  himself  before  an  assembly 
of  learned  men  or  before  illiterate  people  in  the 
same  terms  would  not  be  worthy  the  name  of 
orator. 

-^  ""The  greatest  masters  of  oratory  have  said 
this :  *  He  who  speaks  to  the  public  is  either  its 
master  or  its  slave,  according  to  his  powers  of 
persuasion.' 

"Therefore,  one  should  not  fail  to  observe 
the  audience  while  speaking,  in  order  to  notice 


HOW    TO   ACQUIRE    IT  121 

its  attitude  and  regulate  the  discourse  according 
to  the  manner  in  which  it  is  being  received. 

"If  one  notices  the  least  impatience,  one  must 
not  hesitate  to  sacrifice  a  few  sentences  in  order 
to  shorten  the  discourse  and  resort  to  the  diver- 
sions of  which  we  have  already  spoken. 

"Under  no  circumstances  should  one  become 
disconcerted,  and,  if  it  be  necessary  to  reply  to 
an  antagonist,  one  should  dp  so  with  perfect 
composure,  by  looking  stedfastly  into  the  eyes 
of  his  opponent  and  calling  to  his  aid  the  remem- 
brance of  daily  improvisations." 

Such  are  the  broad  underlying  principles  of 
that  which  Xanthes  calls  the  mental  study  of 
oratory ;  in  the  next  chapter  we  shall  study  with 
him  the  benefits  of  the  mechanical  study  which 
he  designates  as  involuntary  action,  the  study 
of  which  should  go  hand  in  hand  with  mental 
culture. 


LESSON  VIII 

AUTOMATISM   AND   THOUGHT 

These  two  words,  which  seem  to  contradict 
each  other,  find,  nevertheless,  their  place  in  the 
mechanical  education  of  speech. 

In  this  kind  of  study,  thought  will  be  placed 
exclusively  at  the  disposal  of  automatism,  in 
order  to  obtain  before  all  else  the  perfection 
of  the  instrument  of  speech. 

"There  is  not,"  says  Xanthes,  "an  artizan, 
however  remarkable  in  the  understanding  of  his 
art,  who  does  not  first  think  of  the  quality  of 
the  tools  which  he  will  be  called  upon  to  use. 

"The  most  renowned  sculptor  could  never 
awaken  the  soul  of  nature  in  the  marble  if  his 
knife  were  made  of  a  soft  metal  and  if  it  bent 
under  the  blows  of  the  hammer. 

"A  painter  could  not  picture  all  the  colors 
of  a  landscape  if  he  had  only  neutral  tints  at 
his  disposal. 

"Now,  the  voice  is  the  instrument  of  him  who 
desires  to  devote  himself  to  the  art  of  speaking ; 

122 


AUTOMATISM    AND    THOUGHT    123 

he  should  make  all  possible  effort  to  render  this 
instrument  perfect  and,  to  accomplish  this,  must 
devote  himself  at  the  same  time  to  the  mechanical 
and  mental  studies  already  prescribed  in  the 
course  of  these  pages. 

"  If  he  works  conscientiously,  he  will  have  the 
joy  of  seeing  this  instrument  not  only  being  per- 
fected but  also  being  modified  and  made  so 
flexible  that  it  will  obey  the  slightest  sug- 
gestion.',' 

And  Xanthes  adds  judiciously: 

"Is  it  not  sufficient  for  an  orator  to  be  oc- 
cupied in  thinking  out  and  constructing  his 
discourse?  Must  he  struggle  also  with  a  voice 
which  is  badly  placed  ? 

"The  most  pathetic  things  will  seem  dull, 
when  uttered  by  a  voice  which  has  no  warmth. 

"The  different  shades  of  expression  can  only 
be  interpreted  by  a  voice  which  responds  per- 
fectly to  the  will  of  the  orator. 

"The  training  of  this  organ  is,  therefore,  in- 
dispensable to  him  who  is  destined  for  the  career 
of  the  noble  art  of  emotional  expression  and  the 
subtle  art  of  persuasion. 

"One  of  the  first  requirements  in  the  develop- 
ment of  such  art  is  to  learn  how  to  use  the  re- 
spiratory organs  without  fatigue." 


124  SPEECH 

It  is  evident  that  the  ideas  of  voice-culture 
were  the  same  in  olden  times  as  they  are  to-day 
for  all  beginners. 

The  old  Athenian  enters  into  too  much  techni- 
cal detail  for  us  to  reproduce  here,  but,  from  his 
dissertation  on  this  subject,  we  shall  cite  the 
following  passages: 

"Many  methods  of  breathing  are  used,  the 
principal  ones  being: 

*  *  Lateral  respiration ; 
/"Deep  breathing; 
(  "Clavical  breathing. 

"In  the  first,  the  volume  of  air  absorbed  is,  ac- 
cording to  some  experts,  of  considerable  quan- 
tity. The  entire  thoracic  cage  participates  in  this 
absorption,  and,  the  work,  being  spread  over  a 
large  surface,  the  operation  is  rendered  all  the 
easier  because  it  includes  the  uplifting  of  the 
ribs  at  the  same  time. 

"Deep  breathing  is  also  called  abdominal 
respiration,  for  in  this  method  of  inhaling  the 
air  is  stored  by  the  lowering  of  the  diaphragm ; 
the  expanding  of  the  ribs  is  less  perceptible  and 
the  abdomen  is  slightly  curved  inward. 

"On  the  other  hand,  in  clavicular  breathing, 
the  abdomen  is  noticeably  deprest,  while  the 
organs  tend  to  rise." 


AUTOMATISM    AND    THOUGHT    125 

Wliatever  may  be  the  method  adopted, 
Xanthes  advises  that  the  same  position  be  main- 
tained in  putting  it  into  practise. 

Differing  in  opinion  from  our  chief  modern 
professors,  he  condemns  the  reclining  position 
and  he  particularly  recommends  a  special  atti- 
tude. 

''The  arms,"  he  says,  ''should  be  extended 
in  the  form  of  a  cross,  and  the  chest  well  ex- 
panded. 

"The  mouth  must  remain  closed  during  in- 
halation, which  should  be  made  through  the 
nostrils. 

"It  is  bad  for  an  orator  to  inhale  with  the 
mouth  wide  open;  all  sorts  of  diflSculties  result 
from  such  a  method,  the  least  of  which  is  a  sort 
of  hoarse  panting,  called,  'the  orator's  hiccup.' 

"In  addition,  this  panting  arises  far  more 
quickly  if  mouth  respiration  be  employed. 

"When  the  student  is  thoroughly  trained  in 
this  exercise,  the  nasal  inhalation  will  be  so 
easy  for  him  that  he  will  use  it  even  in  speaking, 
which  practise  will  lend  to  his  discourse  great 
uniformity  of  elocution. 

"From  the  moment  that  the  air  inhaled 
through  the  nostrils  has  filled  the  lungs,  great 
care  must  be  taken  not  to  expel  it  briskly. 


126  SPEECH 

"The  greatest  part  of  the  benefit  derived  from 
this  exercise,  would  thus  be  lost,  because  it  is 
above  all  the  exhaling  which  is  important  for  the 
orator. 

"From  the  moment  when  one  feels  that  all  the 
cavities  of  the  lungs  are  abundantly  supplied 
with  air,  one  must  retain  during  a  few  seconds 
this  accumulated  air  and  allow  it  to  be  exhaled 
as  slowly  as  possible,  while  opening  the  mouth 
wide. 

"During  this  last  operation,  the  arms  should 
fall  slowly  until  parallel  with  the  body  and  then 
raised  again  while  one  takes  a  breath. ' ' 

According  to  Xanthes,  the  object  of  this 
similarity  of  movements  is  to  develop  and  to 
restrain  automatically  the  entire  thoracic  cage, 
thus  aiding  the  function  of  respiration. 

He  recommends  to  us  also  the  use  of  rhythmic 
measure  for  the  exercise,  using  the  following 
mental  formula:  Count  five  during  inspiration, 
five  during  the  pause,  and  five  during  expiration. 

"But,"  pursues  he,  "these  long  breaths  can 
only  be  a  means  of  increasing  the  capacity  of  the 
lungs ;  for,  in  actual  practise,  the  orator  will  have 
the  time  to  renew  oftener  the  necessary  provision 
of  air,  which  the  necessities  of  speech  will  not 
permit  him  to  inhale  in  sufficient  quantity. 


AUTOMATISM    AND    THOUGHT    127 

"'However,  it  is  indispensable  for  him  to 
exercise  his  lungs,  as  a  discus-thrower  exercises 
his  arm. 

"By  inhaling  as  we  have  just  prescribed  not 
with  the  upper  part  but  with  the  lower  part 
of  the  lungs,  the  speaker  will  store  enough  air 
to  fill  them  sufficiently,  and,  if  he  exhales  in  the 
manner  that  we  have  just  advised,  he  will  not 
need  to  resort  to  those  frequent  respirations 
which  fatigue  the  orator  as  well  as  his  hearers.'* 

A  little  farther  on,  we  find  still  another  valu- 
able counsel. 

"Take  care,"  says  the  Athenian  philosopher, 
"to  wait  until  the  provision  of  air  is  completely 
exhausted  before  attempting  to  renew  it,  for 
disregarding  this  advice  will  lead  to  spasmodic 
inhaling,  and  your  discourse  will  become  a  mass 
of  short,  disconnected  phrases." 

And  again  he  insists  upon  this  important 
point : 

"Visible  effort  is  always  a  drawback,  because 
it  distracts  the  attention  of  the  hearers,  who 
fear  a  repetition  of  the  movement  which  pro- 
duced it  and  can  not  stop  thinking  about  it; 
the  discourse  is  thus  deprived  of  the  sympathy 
of  the  audience." 

"Respiration  studied  scientifically,"  he  says 
ix.» 


128  SPEECH 

again,  "has  a  considerable  influence  on  the  vol- 
ume and  quality  of  the  voice. 

'*If  opening  the  mouth  when  exhaling  be 
recommended,  it  is  because  perfect  emission  of 
a  tone  depends  absolutely  on  the  strict  adherence 
to  this  rule. 

"If  in  speaking  we  shut  the  teeth  or  the  lips, 
the  sound,  hampered  in  its  emission,  will  not  be 
produced  in  all  its  fulness. 

"Therefore  we  should  practise  daily  the  fol- 
lowing exercise,  in  order  to  develop  quality  and 
especially  evenness  of  tone. 

"Being  placed  in  the  position  required  for 
respiratory  exercise,  we  should  inhale  deeply 
through  the  nostrils  and,  opening  the  mouth 
quite  wide,  allow  the  breath  to  escape  very 
slowly  with  the  sound:  ah.  .  .  . 

' '  One  must  use  no  force  but  simply  permit  the 
tone  to  slip  gently  away,  at  the  time  of  ex- 
halation. 

"If  it  be  spasmodic  or  tremulous,  one  must 
stop  at  once,  begin  the  inhalation  again,  and 
try  again  on  ah.  .  .  . 

"When  this  first  emission  of  the  tone  is  full, 
rich,  without  any  tremolo,  without  change  of 
register,  we  pass  to  the  vowel  o,  then  to  the  other 
vowels,  until  the  time  when  we  become  sufficient- 


AUTOMATISM    AND    THOUGHT    129 

ly  master  of  the  voice  to  fear  neither  trembling 
nor  break. 

"Having  reached  this  stage,  we  shall  be  able 
to  produce  only  a  few  equal  tones,  and  then  we 
may  pass  to  the  following  exercise : 

"After  a  deep  inhalation,  attack  the  tone 
sharply,  then  let  it  die  away  gradually, 

"Then  quicken  the  inspiration  gently  and  in- 
crease the  volume  of  the  voice. 

"Practise  several  times  this  last  operation 
during  the  time  of  exhaling ;  that  is,  increase  and 
diminish  the  voice  alternately;  but  never  lose 
sight  of  uniformity  and  evenness  of  tone. 

"Some  people  are  afflicted  with  a  very  shrill 
voice,  which  detracts  from  the  vigor  of  their 
discourse  and  renders  ridiculous  to  some  degree 
the  development  of  grave  or  heroic  ideas, 

"It  is  a  question  of  lowering  the  compass 
of  such  a  voice  by  employing  the  resonant 
exhalation  on  a  very  open  ah;  this  exhalation 
must  be  very  slow  in  the  beginning,  and  the  tone 
should  be  produced  without  any  contraction. 

"The  next  step  is  to  pronounce  a  word  by 
dividing  the  syllables  and  by  pronouncing  each 
syllable  without  the  least  constriction  of  the 
throat, 

"Later,  entire  phrases  may  be  spoken,  each 


130  SPEECH 

syllable  being  perfected  by  means  of  resonant 
exhalation. 

**At  short  intervals,  we  should  take  notice 
whether  the  voice  has  a  tendency  to  rise  above 
the  proper  pitch,  and  in  such  a  case  there  should 
be  no  hesitation  in  interrupting  the  phrase  and 
beginning  the  sentence  again  on  a  lower  tone." 

After  many  pages  of  advice  devoted  to  the 
rules  for  correcting  faults  of  pronunciation, 
Xanthes  speaks  to  us  of  the  fine  shadings  of 
speech,  relative  to  automatism  and  mechanism. 

' '  I  am  presuming, ' '  he  says,  * '  that  the  orator 
has  acquired  the  quality  of  voice  and  perfection 
of  pronunciation  which  should  be  the  object  of 
all  beginners;  they  should  then  think  about 
arranging  phrases  in  the  most  harmonious  and 
intelligent  manner,  as  to  articulation  and  reson- 
ance. 

"This  is  the  moment  to  advance  equally  the 
literary  and  technical  study  of  oratorical  art. 

"He  must  think  of  a  phrase  the  fundamental 
idea  of  which  emanates  from  a  fixt  principle  or 
opinion. 

* '  He  should  arrange  his  words,  always  remem- 
T)ering  the  rules  concerning  words  and  language, 
and,  as  soon  as  the  phrase  seems  correct  to  him, 
he  should  use  it  as  a  theme  for  his  exercises." 


AUTOMATISM    AND    THOUGHT    131 

We  can  not  help  admiring  the  superiority  of 
the  old  Athenian  over  so  many  others  who  make 
pure  technique  their  only  objective. 

On  the  contrary,  Xanthes  wishes  from  the 
outset  to  initiate  the  beginner  into  the  art  of 
impro\asing  and  correcting. 

He  insists  that  the  phrases  for  practise  shall 
be  constructed  by  the  student,  the  thoughts  all 
his  own,  and  he  demands  that  they  shall  be  as 
perfect  as  possible,  relative  to  idea  and  style. 

This  is  what  he  terms  automatism  joined  to 
thought. 

He  then  advises  that  we  should  study  this 
phrase  in  proportion  as  it  is  applied. 

''The  sentence  once  constructed,  it  will  then 
be  a  question  of  pronunciation,  observing  close- 
ly all  the  gradations  of  punctuation. 

We  should  pause  between  the  words  which,  if 
enunciated  without  separation,  would  produce 
a  confused  impression. 

Before  an  inversion  of  the  natural  order  of 
words : 

"The  call  of  duty  every  one  should  obey." 

Between  the  word  duty  and  the  words  every 
one  there  ought  to  be  an  imperceptible  respir- 
ation, and  a  slight  but  clear  change  in  the 
register  of  the  voice. 


13^  SPEECH 

The  first  five  words  should  be  enunciated  in 
a  uniform  tone,  the  following  four  words  in  a 
lower  and  firmer  tone ;  to  the  ear  of  the  listener, 
the  first  part  should  without  discussion  be 
the  preparation  for  the  second. 

It  is  as  if  the  orator  were  saying,  "Do  you 
know  what  is  to  be  done  when  duty  calls? 
"Well,  I  am  going  to  tell  you:  Every  one  must 
obey." 

Another  effect  can  be  obtained  by  stopping  to 
take  a  short  breath,  just  long  enough  to  indicate 
the  place  where  the  words  have  been  omitted, 
in  order  to  shorten  the  phrase. 

"The  beginning  was  happy  and  the  success 
magnificent. ' ' 

In  order  to  make  it  perfectly  clear  that  the 
word  magnificent  is  related  to  the  verb  to  he, 
understood,  to  express  distinctly  that  it  is  a 
question  of  confirmation  and  not  of  attribution, 
it  is  indispensable  that  the  phrase  should  be 
interrupted,  imperceptibly,  between  success  and 
magnificent. 

Attention  must  be  paid  to  the  punctuation 
after  the  indirect  object,  and,  every  time  it  is 
a  question  of  separating  groups  of  similar 
thoughts ;  between  prepositions,  so  as  to  separate 
collections  of  words  preceding  the  conjunction 


AUTOMATISM    AND    THOUGHT    133 

and,  except  the  and,  wliich  immediately  precedes 
a  preposition. 

The  incidental  also  must  always  be  preceded 
by  a  respiratory  punctuation. 

Before  and  after  an  adverbial  expression. 

After  the  vocative,  if  it  begins  the  phrase; 
before  and  after  if  it  is  inserted  between  phrases. 

Before  and  after  a  parenthetical  clause. 

Wlien  it  is  desired  to  enunciate  something 
announced. 

''He  has  practised  the  most  precious  of  all 
virtues:  goodness." 

It  is  as  if  the  orator  said :  '  *  He  has  practised 
the  most  precious  of  virtues,  and  I  am  going  to 
tell  what  this  virtue  is:  it  is  goodness." 

"All  change  of  idea,  no  matter  how  slight, 
demands  not  only  an  oral  punctuation,"  Xan- 
thes  says  again,  "but  even  a  different  inflection 
of  the  voice,  accompanied  by  acceleration  or 
retardation. 

"For  example,  in  this  phrase: 

"If  one  would  believe  certain  philosophers, 
men  do  not  understand  how  to  utilize  the  ener- 
gies which  lie  dormant  within  them. 

"There  must  be  "punctuation  after  'men', 
which  should  be  pronounced  with  great  pre- 
cision, so  as  to  indicate  that  it  is  a  question 


134.  SPEECH 

of  the  men.  Or  if  certain  philosophers  are  to 
be  believed,  we  should  lower  the  voice  a  little, 
thus  emphasizing  the  final  syllable,  in  order  to 
have  it  understood  that  it  is  not  a  question  of 
any  thing  essential;  then  this  change  of  in- 
flection will  give  a  value  to  the  rest  of  the  phrase, 
which  must  be  spoken  in  the  same  tone  as  the 
opening  words  of  the  sentence,  by  emphasizing 
very  slightly  but  yet  perceptibly  the  words  to 
which  is  attributed  a  special  value. 

"We  should  therefore  say: 

"  ....  'do  7iot  know  how  to  utilize  the 
energies  which  lie  dormant  within  them.'  The 
word  7iot  must  be  emphasized  in  order  to  attract 
attention  to  the  much  regretted  omission;  the 
word  energies  should  be  pronounced  in  such  a 
way  that  it  will  be  well  understood  that  the 
phrase  was  spoken  only  with  reference  to  this 
subject ;  after  this  word  there  should  be  a  gentle 
and  short  inspiration,  to  indicate  clearly  and, 
above  all  to  emphasize  the  character  of  the 
energies,  which  generally  are  unknown  to  exist, 
since  they  lie  dormant. 

"The  change  of  subject  will  always  be  indi- 
cated by  a  pause,  of  which  the  orator  will  avail 
himself  to  fill  his  lungs,  as  he  is  advised  to  do 
when  studying  the  preparatory  exercises. 


AUTOMATISM    AND    THOUGHT    135 

"As  to  the  study  of  inflection,  it  is  one  of  the 
most  important,  because  the  emotions  of  the 
hearer  always  depend  on  those  of  the  orator. 

"In  order  to  inspire  enthusiasm,  it  will  be 
wise  to  practise,  beginning  very  low  and  in  a 
rery  unimpassioned  tone,  so  as  to  allow  the  voice 
to  rise  and  be  able  to  develop  its  full  reso- 
nance and  volume  at  the  end  of  the  sentence. 

"However,  if  this  proceeding  is  very  long 
in  order  to  avoid  monotony  or,  worse  still, 
hoarseness  or  shouting,  we  should  make  use  of  a 
few  words  to  bring  the  voice  back  to  its  initial 
tone  (without,  however,  wholly  accomplishing 
this  end),  that  afterward  it  may  rise  continuous- 
ly to  the  end  of  the  phrase,  in  a  sort  of  swelling 
undulation,  which  will  destroy  the  monotony 
of  the  effort. 

"The  study  of  inflection  should  go  hand  in 
hand  with  the  mechanical  exercises,  but  it  is 
indispensable  never  to  neglect  the  one  for  the 
sake  of  the  other." 

With  admirable  common  sense  Xanthes  adds : 

"Can  one  imagine  an  orator  occupying  him- 
self solely  with  his  style  and  neglecting  his  voice  ? 
Or  can  one  conceive  of  him  as  possessing  a  magni- 
ficent organ  but  ignoring  the  study  of  inflection 
and  punctuation? 


136  SPEECH 

"The  science  of  oratory  is  a  whole  which  can 
only  reach  perfection  if  all  its  parts  are  culti- 
vated simultaneously. 

''The  pupil  should,  therefore,  never  be  al- 
lowed to  recite  during  the  course  of  his  exer- 
cises phrases  in  which  care  for  technique  alone 
is  taken, 

'Emotion,  the  gradations  of  tone,  and  purity 
oi.  style  should  also  be  the  objects  of  his  study. 

"Automatism  should  never  be  practised  un- 
less thought  directs  its  manifestations. 

"The  orator  is  called  upon  to  think  simul- 
taneously of  mechanical  respiration,  creation  of 
ideas,  style,  volume  of  tone,  punctuation,  inflec- 
tion, and  expression. 

' '  To  acquire  expression  it  will  be  well  to  begin 
with  phrases  expressing  familiar  sentiments. 

"After  having  constructed  these  phrases  as 
nearly  perfectly  as  possible,  one  should  enun- 
ciate them  in  the  same  tone  of  voice  as  would 
be  used  in  every-day  life. 

"If  success  does  not  crown  our  efforts  all  at 
once,  opportunities  should  be  created  to  repeat 
them  in  the  natural  tone  of  voice,  that  is,  when 
the  demands  of  daily  life  will  permit  of  this 
exercise, 
j     "It  is  the  usual  mistake  of  all  beginners  to 


AUTOMATISM    AND    THOUGHT    137 

believe  that  they  are  obliged  to  use  the  emphatic 
tone. 

"Oratory  demands,  above  all  else,  the  use  of 
inflections  which  are  appropriate  to  the  subject 
being  treated.  If  we  are  speaking  of  patriotism, 
of  conquest,  or  of  battles,  it  will  be  time  enough 
to  seek  after  a  lofty  style  and  tone. 

"But  we  should  not  forget  that,  if  we  misuse 
these,  we  shall  produce  monotony  which  is  the 
forerunner  of  weariness. 

*'To  recite  with  precision,  to  speak  with  ease, 
and  know  how  to  manipulate  one's  voice  as  an 
artist  of  genius  uses  a  perfect  tool,  such  should 
be  the  purpose  of  the  orator  relative  to  his  ut- 
terances." 

Already  Xanthes  has  instructed  us  in  the  pre- 
paratory course  in  oratory;  now  he  is  going  to 
divulge  to  us  the  secrets  of  gesture,  without  the 
study  of  which  the  finest  orator  risks  losing  the 
desired  effect. 


ii 


LESSON  IX 

ATTITUDE  AND  GESTURE  IN 
SPEECH  DELIVERY 

■  "The  art  of  the  orator,"  says  Xanthes,  *'in- 


(-fludes  two  languages: 

.J 'That  of  the  voice,  which  appeals  to  the  ear 
and  the  mind. 

''That  of  gesture,  intended  to  illustrate  the 
first,  and  which  appeals  to  the  eye  and  to  the  in- 
telligence. 

' '  This  latter  may  be  divided  into  many  parts : 

' '  Gesture. 

"Facial  expression. 

"Attitude. 

"With  very  rare  exceptions,  the  language  of 
gesture  should  always  precede  the  phrase,  for 
which  it  thus  prepares  the  way. 

"Gesture  is  of  great  help  to  the  orator  who 
knows  how  to  use  it  judiciously,  not  only  to 
punctuate  his  phrase,  but  also  to  allow  him  to 
take  a  deeper  breath. 

"It  is,  in  reality,  during  this  first  period  of 
respiration  that  the  gesture  is  generally  made. 

138 


ATTITUDE    AND    GESTURE      139 

"The  second  part,  which  is  that  of  exhalation, 
is  also  that  of  the  spoken  word. 

"The  abundance  of  gestures  should  vary  ac- 
cording to  the  kind  of  language  used,  and  es- 
pecially according  to  the  place  where  it  is  used. 

"It  is  certain  that  a  discourse  delivered  in 
the  open  air  ought  to  be  punctuated  with  more 
comprehensive  gestures  than  would  accompany 
the  same  phrases  spoken  in  a  very  small  room. 

"The  popular  orator  who  is  rousing  his  hear- 
ers to  the  defense  of  their  native  land  can  not 
use  the  same  gestures  as  the  sage  who  is  ex- 
plaining the  mysteries  of  science  to  his  pupils, 

' '  Gestures  made  in  a  narrow  hall  and  before  a 
few  people  can  sometimes  be  limited  to  facial 
expression. 

' '  As  with  the  voice,  with  style,  and  with  speak- 
ing, gesture  ought  to  be  practised  daily, 

"Gestures  should  be  slow  or  quick,  according 
to  the  requirements  of  the  phrase  which  the 
orator  is  emphasizing. 

"Gestures  should  be  dignified,  graceful,  with- 
out nervousness,  without  weakness,  and,  above 
all,  without  awkwardness." 

Before  studying  gesture  in  its  details,  Xanthes 
bids  us  take  precaution  against  the  imperfec- 
tions which  must  first  be  combatted;  he  speaks 


140  SPEECH 

also  to  us  of  the  many  orators  who  are  victims 
of  defects  which  retard  their  progress,  and  nar- 
rates to  us  on  this  subject  a  fable  on  which  all 
orators  should  reflect,  the  story  of  the  two 
laborers. 

* '  A  man  had  willed  to  his  two  sons  two  fields 
exactly  alike,  which  for  a  number  of  years  had 
not  been  under  cultivation. 

"Rye-grass  also  was  growing  in  abundance 
there,  and  injurious  plants  were  climbing  over 
each  other  in  picturesque  disorder. 

"The  elder  son  began  by  pulling  up  all  the 
weeds,  then  he  plowed  the  field  very  thoroughly 
until  he  was  certain  of  having  dug  out  the  last 
root.  Finally,  he  piled  them  all  up,  burned 
them,  and  let  the  wind  disperse  the  ashes. 

"Then  only  did  he  begin  to  sow  seed. 

"The  other  son  was  of  a  more  impatient 
nature.  He  was  contented  to  plow  superficially 
before  sowing  the  grain. 

"What  happened?  The  field  of  the  first  one, 
freed  from  parasites  which  prevent  the  growth 
of  the  grain,  produced  a  magnificent  harvest. 

"For  the  second,  on  the  contrary,  his  pains 
were  in  vain,  for  the  blades  of  wheat  disap- 
peared very  soon  under  the  growth  of  the  in- 
vading rye-grass. 


ATTITUDE    AND    GESTURE      141 

''He  acknowledged  too  late  the  wisdom  of  his 
elder  brother,  and  his  negligence  was  punished 
by  the  failure  of  his  harvest  and  the  resulting 
troubles. 

"This  fable,"  continues  Xanthes,  "should  be 
taught  to  all  young  orators,  in  order  to  make' 
them  understand  how  important  it  is  that  they 
should  eradicate  their  defects  before  seeking  to 
acquire  the  science  of  gesture." 

We  shall  now  examine  with  the  Athenian  phil- 
osopher some  of  these  defects. 

"First,  exaggeration,  which,  if  not  used  by 
a  sublime  orator  when  speaking  of  heroic  things, 
will  very  quickly  degenerate  into  awkwardness. 

"And  even  then  this  exuberance  must  be  mo- 
mentary and  demanded  by  the  necessities  of  the 
situation. 

'^  "All  useless  gesture  is  considered  exaggera- 
tion, that  is,  gesture  not  required  by  the  re- 
quirements of  the  phrase. 

' '  All  vulgar  gestures  should  be  excluded,  such 
as  throwing  the  folds  of  the  toga  over  the  back 
or  to  lift  them  up  as  high  as  the  shoulder, 

' '  The  hands  on  the  hips,  the  fists  in  front,  the 
hands  crossed  on  the  abdomen,  all  are  just  as 
many  indications  of  negligence,  and  must  never 
be  allowed  under  any  circumstances. 


142  SPEECH 

"Gestures  which  conceal  the  face  should  be 
avoided,  as  also  those  which  interfere  with  eack 
other  without  a  reason ;  spreading  the  fingers  or 
shutting  the  hand  over  the  thumb,  etc. 

"Excessive  mobility  is  always  a  defect,  be- 
cause it  imparts  to  the  listener  the  restlessness 
which  seems  to  agitate  the  speaker, 

"The  repetition  at  regular  intervals  of  the 
same  gesture  is  equally  enervating  for  the  listen- 
er, who,  in  spite  of  himself,  awaits  and  fears  the 
repetition ;  now  this  engrossing  thought  is  most 
unfortunate  for  the  orator,  since  it  diverts  for  a 
mere  puerility  part  of  the  attention  which  should 
be  given  wholly  to  his  discourse. 

' '  However,  it  would  be  dangerous  to  resort  to 
impassiveness  in  order  to  escape  this  difficulty. 

* '  Speakers  who  are  contented  just  to  speak  do 
not  take  long  to  weary  those  who  listen  to 
them." 

Xanthes,  after  having  indicated  the  defects  of 
gesture,  turns  to  the  explanation  of  those  quali- 
ties which  orators  should  cultivate: 

"The  first  of  all,"  he  says,  "is  to  establish 
harmony  between  the  gesture  and  the  word. 

"Grace  of  movement  would  be  out  of  place  if 
one  wished  to  express  heroic  deeds. 

* '  On  the  other  hand  a  vigorous  gesture  would 


ATTITUDE    AND    GESTURE      14.3 

be  ridiculous  if  accompanying  the  expression  of 
a  graceful  thought. 

£^**Ease  is  the  quality  the  most  prized  and  the 
one  which  is  required  of  every  public  speaker. 

**  Variety  of  gesture  ought  to  solve  this  diffi- 
cult problem  if  allied  to  moderation. 

"Nothing  is  more  vexatious  than  this  whirl- 
wind of  arms  and  hands,  which  to  little  purpose 
— and  generally^  to  no  purpose — are  raised, 
lowered,  wared  about.  As  a  result  of  this,  an 
unrest  is  produced  among  the  audience,  of 
which  the  most  perfectly  harmonious  discourse 
will  assuredly  feel  the  effect. 

"Gesture  should  always  be  free,  refined,  and 
never  spasmodic. 

' '  To  obtain  this  result,  or  rather  these  results, 
daily  practise  is  necessary. 

"This  is  indispensable  to  students,  but  the 
masters  hare  not  been  exempt  from  it,  and, 
from  Demosthenes  to  the  most  obscure  orator, 
all  those  who  hare  made  a  profession  of  speak- 
ing in  public  have  devoted  a  certain  part  of  each 
day  to  the  stud/  of  gesture. 

"This  practise  consists  in  a  series  of  move- 
ments, which  should  be  worked  upon  separately, 
in  order  to  be  able  to  apply  them  with  ease  at 
the  desired  moment. 


144  SPEECH 

"Here  thought  should  intervene,  as  in  the 
study  of  the  voice. 

* '  One  should  construct  a  phrase,  and  then  ap- 
ply the  appropriate  gestures  to  the  best  of  one's 
understanding. 

"When  we  have  classified  the  series  of  mo- 
tions which  seem  the  most  appropriate,  the  ges- 
tures should  be  studied  separately,  by  analyzing 
the  movements  which  produce  them. 
-"  "We  should  adopt  the  principle  of  never 
allowing  the  gestures  to  be  made  from  the  wrist 
or  from  the  elbow. 

"The  orator  who  speaks  with  the  arms  paral- 
lel to  the  body,  moving  only  the  wrist  and  the 
elbow,  will  give  the  impression  of  undeveloped 
awkwardness. 

"To  produce  the  desired  gesture  we  should 
adopt  a  natural  position,  afterward  trying  to 
avoid  all  that  is  ungraceful  or  vulgar, ' ' 

In  order  to  facilitate  this  study  the  old  orator 
classifies  gestures  in  different  categories,  of 
which  we  shall  cite  first  the  two  principal  divi- 
sions : 

Gestures  of  impression. 

Gestures  of  indication. 

The  first  interpret  almost  always  sentiment 
alone ;  however,  they  may  be  employed  to  express 


ATTmJDE    AND    GESTURE      145 

a  physical  sensation — pain,  comfort,  cold,  heat, 
etc.,  etc. 

If  we  are  suffering  from  fatigue  we  shall 
stretch  our  arms;  during  great  heat  we  shall 
wipe  the  forehead ;  under  the  painful  sensation 
of  headache,  the  hands  will  naturally  be  raised 
to  the  forehead;  we  shall  dry  our  tears,  etc. 

To  warn  against  danger,  we  shall  stretch  forth 
the  arm,  holding  the  hand  bent  backward  to  the 
wrist,  the  fingers  in  the  air  slightly  parted. 

However,  many  gestures  can  not  be  made  dur- 
ing the  discourse,  to  which  they  would  give  an 
aspect  of  \Tilgarity,  bordering  on  ridicule. 

It  is  for  the  orator  to  choose  those  which  seem 
to  him  adequate  to  the  subject  which  he  is  treat- 
ing, and,  after  having  studied  them  at  length,  to 
use  them  with  the  greatest  discretion. 

According  to  Xanthes,  the  movements  of 
prayer  and  threat  may  be  classified  among  ges- 
tures of  impression,  as  also  those  of  hate  and 
love,  of  vengeance,  of  satisfaction,  of  discontent, 
of  surprize,  and  of  stupor. 

All  movements  used  to  illustrate  a  material 
object  are  placed,  according  to  him,  in  the  second 
category,  that  of  indicative  gestures. 

They  serve  to  designate  form,  movement, 
dimension,  situation. 


146  SPEECH 

**In  the  gestures  of  impression,"  he  says 
again,  "spiritual  sensations  can  ail  be  personi- 
fied by  the  orator. 

"Enthusiasm  will  be  exprest  by  a  movement 
of  the  arms  in  the  air  or  projected  in  front. 
l^'       "Discouragement  by  the  arms  in  a  falling  po- 

.  sition  and  a  crusht  attitude. 
yj       "Defiance,  by  the  arms  folded. 

"  Finding  oneself  called  upon  to  protest  in 
good  faith  or  because  of  one's  devotion  to  a  noble 
cause,  the  hand  will  rest  upon  the  breast  in  a 
sweeping  gesture. 

"Helplessness  will  be  demonstrated  by  the 
arms  held  apart  from  the  body. 

* '  The  arms  at  a  slight  distance  from  the  body, 
the  hand  partly  open  in  the  form  of  a  shell,  the 
palm  upward,  expresses  the  gesture  of  welcome. 

"The  same  movement,  but  with  the  fingers 
united  and  the  hand  horizontal,  interprets  the 
offering  of  something. 

"Gestures  of  indication  are  more  exact. 

"The  arms  stretched,  with  the  index-finger 
horizontal,  is  the  indication  of  a  rough  dismissal. 

"The  same  gesture,  if  the  index-finger  is 
curved  toward  the  breast,  will  mean  an  appeal. 

"In  intimacy,  the  arm  will  be  raised  and  the  in- 
dex-finger will  be  raised  to  the  height  of  the  face. 


ATTITUDE    AND    GESTURE      147 

' '  The  separation  of  the  hands  more  or  less  re- 
mote will  indicate  larger  or  smaller  dimensions, 
as  to  volume. 

"Length  is  demonstrated,  ordinarily,  by  press- 
ing one  index-finger  on  the  phalange  of  the 
other;  then  it  is  drawn  near  the  palm;  the  dis- 
tance between  the  two  points  where  the  index- 
finger  touches  will  indicate  the  length  to  be  ex- 
plained. 

"The  horizontal  palm  and  the  fingers  sepa- 
rated with  a  sliding  gesture  indicate  a  flat  sur- 
face. 

*  *  This  same  gesture,  waved  slightly,  will  mark 
sinuosities. 

"To  inspire  repose,  the  hand  may  be  gently 
moved  up  and  down. 

"To  command  the  acceleration  of  a  move- 
ment, the  hand,  reversed,  must  be  put  forward, 
and  this  movement  repeated  many  times. 

"The  index-finger  turned  toward  the  ground 
indicates  the  next  place. 

"Separation  is  indicated  by  the  arm  folded 
back  and  the  hand  half-closed,  with  the  index- 
finger  extended  toward  the  horizon,  etc.,  etc. 

"Facial  expression  is  classified  also  in  the 
division  of  oratorical  art  which  is  called  gesture. 

"It  is  very  important  that  it  should  never 


148  SPEECH 

diverge  to  the  point  where  it  would  interpret  a 
sentiment  contrary  to  the  one  desired  to  be  ex- 
prest, 

"It  is  equally  essential  not  to  adopt  that  im- 
passiveness  which  certain  novices  take  for  a 
coldness  in  good  taste. 

"Orators  should  guard  against  too  exagger- 
ated facial  movement,  as  contraction  of  the  eye- 
brows, smiles  when  no  cause  for  them  exists,  or 
contortions  of  the  mouth. 

"The  expression  of  the  eyes  will  form  an  ob- 
ject of  special  study;  their  excessive  mobility, 
winking  too  frequently ;  all  these  will  be  so  many 
defects  which  will  destroy  the  harmony  of  facial 
expression. 

"The  habit  of  closing  the  eyes  should  be  vig- 
orously combatted,  because  it  conceals  from  the 
audience  the  sentiments  which  the  eyes  are  re- 
quired to  express. 

"Staring  has  the  same  deficiency. 

"It  is  also  most  undesirable  always  to  fix  the 
eyes  on  the  same  point ;  the  head  often  leaning  to 
the  same  side,  it  happens  that  a  part  of  the 
audience  find  themselves,  unconsciously,  neglect- 
ed by  the  speaker. 

"For  all  the  other  parts  of  the  face,  the  ora- 
tor, without  employing  excessiva  gesture,  which 


ATTITUDE    AND    GESTURE      149 

exceeds  the  limits  of  authorized  imitation,  should 
endeavor  to  sketch  the  impressions  which  he  de- 
scribes by  the  aid  of  facial  expression. 

"It  is  designedly  that  we  employ  the  word 
'sketch,'  for  it  would,  indeed,  be  ridiculous 
literally  to  trace  these  impressions. 

*'When  an  orator  says: 

"  'Let  us  weep  for  the  fate  of  our  brothers 
killed  by  the  enemy,'  the  whole  expression  of 
his  countenance  will  depict  sadness,  but  it  would 
be  perfectly  ridiculous  if  he  burst  into  tears. 

"Also  the  simple  sketch  permits  of  passing 
very  quickly  from  sadness  to  another  sentiment, 
which  would  become  very  difficult  if  the  impres- 
sion made  had  been  a  very  deep  one. 

"To  continue  the  same  example,  we  shall 
quote  the  phrase  cited  above,  terminating  it  by 
the  words:  'and  let  us  revenge  them,'  and  we 
shall  understand  how  impossible  it  will  be  for 
an  orator  who  has  constrained  his  features  to 
express  the  most  profound  sadness  to  force  them 
to  change  their  expression  in  a  second  to  one 
which  shall  indicate  savage  energy  contained  in 
the  words,  'let  us  revenge  them!' 

"If,  on  the  contrary,  he  has  simply  outlined 
quiet  sadness,  it  will  be  far  easier  for  him,  by 
means  of  an  imperceptible  movement,  to  induce 


150  SPEECH 

them  to  express  the  resolution  dictated  bj  the 
concluding  words." 

Passing  then  to  the  analysis  of  facial  expres- 
sion, Xanthes  says: 

^'"The  eyes  are  the  most  essential  feature  of  the 
face.  The  orator  should  pay  special  attention 
to  their  expression. 

"They  will  express  surprize,  fear,  indifference, 
or  shame,  according  as  they  are  wide  open,  half- 
closed,  or  lowered. 

"If  they  glare  under  contracted  eyebrows, 
they  indicate  anger ;  if  they  remain  calm,  while 
the  eyebrows  frown,  it  is  a  sign  of  calculated 
resolution. 

"The  nostrils  expanded  express  disdain. 

"The  mouth  opens  in  emotion,  caused  by  fear 
or  sudden  surprize. 

"In  grief,  the  corners  of  the  mouth  droop. 

"The  lower  lip  extended  forward  indicates 
scorn,  and  sometimes  ignorance. 

"The  movement  of  the  head  thrown  back,  ac- 
companied by  an  elevation  of  the  eyebrows,  in- 
terprets audacity. 

"Affirmation  is  exprest  by  a  downward  ges- 
ture of  the  head. 

"Turned  several  times  from  one  side  to  an- 
other, the  head  will  indicate  negation. 


!\ 


ATTITUDE    AND    GESTURE       151 

' '  The  more  rapid  these  two  movements  are  and 
the  oftener  repeated,  the  more  violent  will  be  the 
aflSrmation  or  the  negation. 

"The  third  division  of  gesture,  attitude,  is  a 
thing  less  defined  than  gestures. 

"Attitude  is  a  composite  production,  inclu- 
sive of  everything  which  concerns  gesture. 

"It  is  the  art  of  pleasing  the  eyes  and  charm- 
ing the  ears  at  the  same  time." 

An  orator,"  says  Xanthes,  "should  never 
forget  that  he  will  be  judged  first  by  his  atti- 
tude. 

"He  presents  himself  before  speaking,  and, 
if  his  pose  displeases  the  public,  he  will  have 
a  thousand  times  more  difficulty  in  winning  its 
favor. 

"The  moment  it  is  a  question  of  a  discourse, 
gesture  can  be  classified  under  three  different 
heads. 

"The  attitude,  which  makes  the  first  impres- 
sion ;  the  gesture  which  follows,  and,  finally,  the 
spoken  word. 

' '  One  can,  therefore,  understand  of  what  util- 
ity the  science  of  attitude  may  be,  since  it 
avoids  being  judged  by  the  public  with  prema- 
ture severity. 

"In  order  to  acquire  a  harmonious  attitude, 


152  SPEECH 

the  first  of  all  conditions  is  to  observe  the  pre- 
scribed rules  as  to  moderation  and  grace  in 
gesture. 

"Afterward,  it  is  necessary  to  know  how  to 
take  possession  of  the  public;  that  is,  to  domi- 
nate it  by  looking  frankly  into  the  face  of  the 
audience  and  by  a  cold  reserve  of  pose. 

"The  timid  never  succeed  in  impressing  an 
audience,  because  they  are  not  sufficiently  con- 
vinced of  their  own  value. 

"When  mounting  the  rostrum,  every  orator 
who  wishes  to  be  master  of  his  public  should  be 
impregnated  with  the  conviction  of  his  own  su- 
periority. 

"By  acting  thus  he  will  not  commit  an  act  of 
extreme  vanity,  because  it  is  incontestable  that 
the  majority  of  those  who  have  come  to  hear 
him  admit  this  supremacy,  their  presence  being 
a  certain  proof  of  this  conviction;  one  does  not 
incommode  oneself  to  listen  to  a  speaker  when 
one  is  persuaded  that  he  can  not  teach  people 
anything. 

"The  orator  should,  therefore,  take  an  atti- 
tude indicative  of  grace  and  of  power.  If  he 
feels  agitation,  he  must  make  a  determined  effort 
to  dissemble  it. 

"He  should  wait  until  perfect  silence  reigns 


ATTITUDE    AND    GESTURE      158 

before  beginning  to  speak.  In  case  he  shall  have 
pronounced  his  first  words  in  the  tumult  of 
voices,  he  should  repeat  them,  allowing  an  in- 
terval of  a  few  seconds  to  intervene  between 
these  words  and  their  repetition. 

"One  can  not  repeat  this  truth  too  often: 

' '  The  silence  imposed  by  the  orator  is  the  best 
way  to  appease  disorder  in  an  auditorium. 

"During  his  discourse,  he  "should  turn  his 
head  first  to  the  right,  then  to  the  left,  in  order 
that  every  one  may  participate  in  his  oration. 

"He  should  restrict  himself  to  the  use  of 
those  gestures  which  explain  his  words. 

"He  should  increase  or  diminish  the  volume 
of  his  voice  according  to  the  dimensions  and  the 
acoustics  of  the  place  where  he  is  speaking. 

"He  should  take  care  to  express  the  opinions 
to  which  he  gives  utterance,  by  a  moderate  play 
of  the  features,  and  he  should  emphasize  them 
by  the  aid  of  rare  and  graceful  gestures. 

"It  is  always  better  to  begin  a  discourse 
slowly,  and  to  commence  it  by  short  phrases. 

"An  orator  ought  to  think  of  the  appeal  to 
the  intelligence  of  his  public,  which  is  imbued 
with  his  idea  in  proportion  as  he  has  not  treated 
roughly  the  effort  to  comprehend  him  that  he 
exacts  of  his  hearers. 


154  SPEECH 

**Cut  short  the  exordium  and  go  to  the  heart 
of  the  discourse  as  quickly  as  possible.  You 
will  have  many  more  chances  to  be  listened  to 
than  if  you  have  already  wearied  the  attention 
of  your  public  by  useless  considerations. 

"A  discourse  is  not  a  lesson  in  rhetoric;  it  is 
a  demonstration  in  favor  of  a  conviction. 

"For  this  reason,  when  one  reaches  the  essen- 
tial point  of  the  discourse,  he  will  do  well  to 
create  in  himself  an  enthusiasm  which  will  be 
propagated  among  his  audience,  by  means  of 
the  impassioned  words  which  this  ardor  will 
dictate,  and  appropriate  and  harmonious  ges- 
tures with  which  he  will  illustrate  his  sentences, 
which  at  this  moment  will  become  longer  and 
above  all  more  sonorous. 

' '  The  final  gesture,  like  the  phrase  of  perora- 
tion, should  never  be  left  to  the  chance  of  im- 
provisation. 

' '  This  gesture  is  quite  as  important  as  the  first 
of  all. 

*'If  the  initial  attitude  influences  the  dispo- 
sition of  the  hearers,  the  attitude  at  the  termin- 
ation of  the  discourse  will  remain  engraved  on 
their  memory  of  representations;  it  will  efface 
the  former  gestures,  to  leave  only  this  one  re- 
maining. 


ATTITUDE    AND    GESTURE      155 

''Understand  well,  we  eliminate  all  cases  of 
awkwardness  or  ridicule ;  however,  admitting 
that  one  has  had  to  experience  them  during  the 
discourse,  the  attractive  attitude  of  the  perora- 
tion would  obliterate  them  from  the  mind. 

' '  Orators  who  wish  to  be  listened  to  should  not 
forget  that  they  are  not  only  bearers  of  speech 
and  of  thought,  but  also  propagators  of  the  re- 
ligion of  beauty." 


LESSON  X 

SPEECH  AS  USED   IN  BUSINESS  AND 
FAMILY  LIFE 

It  is  not  only  on  the  rostrum  and  at  public 
gatherings  that  the  art  of  speaking  should  be 
revealed. 

It  is  of  indisputable  value  when  it  is  applied 
to  the  thousand  and  one  conditions  of  daily  life, 
in  which  the  need  of  producing  conviction  is 
allied  to  the  desire  of  sustaining,  of  consoling, 
yes,  even  of  reprimanding,  others. 

The  authority  of  the  head  of  the  family  de- 
pends very  often  on  the  way  in  which  he  ex- 
presses himself. 

A  phrase  badly  constructed,  composed  of  in- 
exact statements,  has  often  created  discord  be- 
tween people  who  until  then  had  had  no  other 
feeling  than  reciprocal  sympathy. 

It  also  happens  that  not  knowing  how  to  in- 
terpret their  opinions  by  the  use  of  appropriate 
words,  many  people  will  keep  silent  and  allow 
most  reprehensible  acts  to  be  committed  in  their 

156 


IN  BUSINESS  AND  FAINIILY  LIFE    157 

presence,    which,    with    one    word    from    them, 
would  surely  have  been  prevented. 

It  is  impossible  to  estimate  the  number  of 
people  who  lament  the  inability  to  speak  with 
which  they  are  affected  at  the  moment  when 
they  wish  to  express  their  thought! 

It  would,  however,  be  very  easy  for  them  to 
interpret  these  thoughts  in  the  most  accurate, 
if  not  the  most  brilliant,  manner  if  they  would 
cultivate  the  art  of  speech. 

It  is  certainly  not  given  to  every  one  to  depict 
his  sentiments  in  well-chosen  words,  and  ele- 
gance of  language  needs,  as  we  have  seen,  a 
special  and  complete  course  of  study,  the  ap- 
plication to  which  demands  a  veritable  life-work. 

But,  if  moral  or  material  reasons  prevent  the 
achievement  of  this  ambition  in  all  its  perfec- 
tion, it  is  always  possible  to  devote  the  time 
necessary  to  the  acquisition  of  polished  lan- 
guage, accompanied  by  harmonious  gestures,  ex- 
pressing in  a  clear  manner  simple  and  sound 
ideas. 

"There  are  no  circumstances,"  says  Xanthes, 
"in  which  the  art  of  speaking  does  not  exert  a 
preponderant  influence  over  the  conclusion  of 
acts. 

The  young  scholar  who  appears  at  ease  and 


158  SPEECH 

speaks  with  elegance  will  win  the  favor  of  his 
master,  rather  than  one  of  superior  talent  but 
unskilled  in  the  art  of  expression." 

That  which  was  true  in  the  time  of  Xanthes 
remains  even  to-day  as  an  indisputable  principle. 

In  modern  society,  in  which  so  few  places  are 
at  our  disposal,  relative  to  the  number  of  can- 
didates who  covet  them,  facility  of  speech  has 
become  a  necessity. 

They  are  to  be  pitied  who  are  not  versed  in 
this  art,  for  they  run  great  risk  of  never  attain- 
ing to  the  position  of  which  they  are  often  worthy. 

However,  one  can  not  complain  of  these  posi- 
tions being  refused  to  those  who  disdain  them 
without  seeking  to  know  them  better,  for  diffi- 
culty and  inelegance  of  speech  are  among  the 
obstacles  which  defeat  success. 

The  presentation  of  an  affair,  as  well  as  of 
an  idea,  exacts  a  display  of  the  powers  of  per- 
suasion more  or  less  important  but  certain ;  now 
conviction  is  only  obtained  by  means  of  words 
proving  the  truth  of  assertions. 

Is  there  anything  more  pitiable  than  the  atti- 
tude of  a  man  incapable  of  making  himself  un- 
derstood and,  on  account  of  it,  unable  to  con- 
vince his  hearers  of  the  opinion  which  he  would 
have  them  adopt? 


IN  BUSINESS  AND  FAMILY  LIFE    159 

Whatever  may  be  the  affair  which  he  proposes, 
if  he  makes  his  proposition  clumsily  and  with 
embarrassment,  no  attention  will  be  paid  to 
his  recommendations. 

We  see,  on  the  contrary,  schemers  accomplish 
easily  the  object  which  they  wish  to  achieve,  in 
spite  of  the  deplorable  character  of  their  pur- 
pose, because  they  know  by  their  command  of 
words  how  to  importune  those  of  whose  sincerity 
they  have  taken  advantage. 

But,  if  the  art  of  speaking  is  necessary  in  so- 
cial life,  it  is  not  less  so  in  home  life. 

"A  father  articulating  imperfectly,  and  in- 
capable of  expressing  his  wishes  correctly,  will 
never  enjoy  complete  authority. 

"His  children  will  feel  that  they  are  inade- 
quately sustained  by  so  poor  an  advocate,  and 
they  will  smile  in  secret  at  the  stupid  reprimands 
which  he  has  administered  to  them. 

"He  himself  will  feel  so  embarrassed  because 
of  the  inefficiency  of  his  speech  that  he  will 
hesitate  to  make  the  reproach  dictated  by  his 
conscience  and  which  his  voice  so  unskilfully 
interprets. 

"And  how  many  opportunities  he  will  lose  of 
instructing  his  sons  by  not  being  able  to  interest 
them ! 

IX. 11 


160  SPEECH 

"There  are  certain  schools,"  continues  the 
philosopher,  "where  the  art  of  speaking  is 
taught  to  the  children  at  the  same  time  as  the 
first  elements  of  instruction. 

"The  master  does  not  admit  vulgarities  of 
language  and  only  approves  of  criticisms  for- 
mulated in  a  manner  as  correct  as  can  be  de- 
manded from  a  child  of  tender  age." 

"What  a  lesson  for  our  contemporary  teachers ! 

Children  of  this  generation  readily  allow 
themselves  to  be  attracted  by  the  charm  of 
words  whose  special  coloring  pleases  their  imag- 
ination, at  the  same  time  that  it  flatters  their 
spirit  of  independence. 

At  first  the  slang  of  sports,  then  pure  slang 
gradually  swamps  in  the  minds  of  the  students 
the  science  of  correct  and  elegant  expressions 
which  their  professors  try  to  inculcate  in  them. 

The  grandparents  who  can  comprehend  every 
thing  in  the  habitual  language  of  their  grand- 
children are  becoming  rarer  and  rarer. 

Must  we  then  scorn  the  illegitimate  sister  of 
pure  language  to  the  point  of  never  borrowing 
from  her  one  of  those  curious  but  brilliant  ex- 
pressions in  which  she  usually  clothes  her  ideas  ? 

The  poets  of  the  slums  have  proved  through- 
out the  world  that  in  the  gutter  where  this  un- 


IN  BUSINESS  AND  FAMILY  LIFE    161 

couth  language  had  its  birth  a  glimpse  of  heaven 
is  sometimes  perceived ;  it  is  not  then  forbidden 
the  orator  to  emphasize  his  phrase  by  using  one 
of  these  expressions,  which  reproduce  the  truth 
as  a  too  realistic  picture  in  all  its  barbarity- 
would  portray  it;  but  children  are  poor  judges 
of  these  gradations  of  expression,  and  if  they 
have  not  near  them  the  natural  professor,  which 
should  be  their  father,  they  will  descend  to  trivi- 
ality while  sincerely  believing  that  they  are  giving 
evidence  of  the  originality  of  their  conversation. 

This  is  why  it  is  necessary  that  the  head  of 
the  family  should  practise  and  preach  the  neces- 
sity of  the  art  of  speaking. 

"The  spoken  words,"  says  Xanthes,  "is  the 
vehicle  of  thought ;  it  is  through  speech  that 
the  minds  of  children  and  of  relatives  are  en- 
dowed with  creative  power. 

"The  projections  of  healthy  thoughts  can  not 
be  efficaciously  transmitted  if  he  who  is  morally 
responsible  for  them  does  not  know  how  to  in- 
terpret these  thoughts  in  words,  which  destroy 
the  unbalanced  impulses  in  young  minds. 

"It  is  by  speech  as  well  as  by  example  that 
we  shall  succeed  in  combating  mental  weakness, 
by  substituting  for  it  the  power  of  the  will, 
creator  of  strong  resolutions." 


162  SPEECH 

"The  art  of  speaking,"  adds  the  philosopher, 
"is  also  the  art  of  gradations.  By  cultivating 
it  we  shall  succeed  very  quickly  in  enlarging  the 
field  of  the  intelligence,  because  we  shall  under- 
stand how  to  become  accustomed,  little  by  little, 
to  the  pruning  of  parasitic  thoughts  so  as  to 
allow  the  initial  thought  to  triumph. 

'  *  Those  who  ignore  the  art  of  speech  are  con- 
tented to  think  confusedly,  and  the  imperfec- 
tions of  their  resolutions  are  less  apparent  to 
them. 

"But,  being  forced  to  express  them,  they 
quickly  perceive  their  defects. 

"Speech  determines  the  idea  and  it  is  in 
seeking  to  represent  this  idea  that  the  confusion 
and  obscurity  of  their  ideas  will  strike  those 
who  express  them  with  difficulty." 

And  then  the  old  orator  insists  again  on  the 
necessity  of  eloquence  in  that  which  concerns 
the  circumstances  of  social  life. 

"Persuasion,"  he  says,  "is  achieved  by  a  kind 
of  exchange  of  radiance,  which,  if  it  affects  simi- 
larly the  orator  and  his  interlocutor,  will  only 
influence  profoundly  the  one  of  the  two  who  is 
the  most  susceptible  to  the  penetration  of  this 
radiance. ' ' 

And  he  adds: 


IN  BUSINESS  AND  FAMILY  LIFE    163 

"Two  men,  each  carrying  a  torch,  were  walk- 
ing one  evening  to  meet  one  another;  but,  altho 
the  flame  of  one  shed  a  brilliant  light,  that  of 
the  second,  imperfectly  lighted,  burned  dimly 
in  the  darkness,  so  dimly  that  the  latter  was 
completely  illuminated  by  the  flame  of  the  torch 
which  the  other  advancing  toward  him  was  wav- 
ing, while  the  latter  was  scarcely  touched  by 
the  rays  escaping  from  the  smoky  torch. 

* '  The  bearers  of  speech  are  like  these  two  bear- 
ers of  torches ;  when  one  of  them  by  the  force  of 
his  arguments  spreads  over  the  heart  of  his  in- 
terlocutor the  illumination  of  persuasion,  the 
other,  he  who  expresses  himself  in  a  confused 
way  and  who  knows  little  how  to  separate  the 
light  of  the  idea  from  the  obscure  chaos  of  his 
impressions,  will  never  succeed  in  diffusing  light 
around  himself  which  he  does  not  understand 
how  to  produce. 

"As  compensation  he  will  be  disposed  to  per- 
mit all  the  lights  which  eloquent  men  dispense 
so  generously  to  shine  upon  him,  too  happy  if 
a  blur  does  not  come  before  his  eyes  as  a  result 
of  this,  which  will  prevent  him  from  seeing  with- 
in himself." 

The  philosopher  puts  us  again  on  our  guard 
against  the  misfortunes  which  in  social  life  can 


164  SPEECH 

result  from  a  radical  or  partial  defect  in  elo- 
quence. 

"It  has  often  happened,"  he  says,  ''that  a 
man  unjustly  accused  may  not  have  been  able  to 
justify  himself  in  a  satisfactory  manner,  for  the 
lack  of  knowing  how  to  find  the  right  words  to 
say. 

* '  One  day,  a  man  from  the  suburbs  of  Athens 
was  accused  by  his  neighbor  of  having  stolen  a 
valuable  ring  belonging  to  him.  He  was  com- 
pelled to  appear  before  the  judge,  and  he  began 
by  protesting  his  innocence,  satisfied  merely  to 
deny  his  guilt,  for  the  poor  man  was  not  gifted 
in  public  speaking.  He  limited  himself  from  the 
first  to  the  expression:  'No,  it  is  not  I.'  But 
the  neighbor  was  a  clever  speaker ;  he  converted 
the  judge  so  thoroughly  to  his  belief  that  the 
latter,  persuaded  in  his  turn,  undertook  to  make 
him  acknowledge  that  he  was  guilty  of  the  crime 
of  which  he  was  accused. 

"Confused  by  these  convincing  phrases,  sur- 
rounded by  a  network  of  proofs  whose  authority 
he  was  unable  to  contest  otherwise  than  by  per- 
sistent denial,  the  accused  ended  by  proving  the 
magic  power  of  words,  and,  altho  perfectly  in- 
nocent, he  confest. 

"He  confest,  as  much  to  rid  himself  of  the 


IN  BUSINESS  AND  FA^IILY  LIFE    165 

torture  of  responding  as  to  succumb  to  the  sug- 
gestion evoked  by  the  words  to  which  he  never 
retorted,  and  which,  for  this  very  reason,  ended 
by  affecting  his  mind  so  seriously  as  to  bring  on 
brain-trouble. 

' '  Happily,  at  this  crisis  something  unexpected 
happened:  the  neighbor  found  his  ring.  They 
hastened  to  liberate  from  prison  the  unskilful 
speaker,  who  could  not  explain  his  confession 
otherwise  than  by  the  difficulty  of  retorting  the 
arguments  with  which  he  was  overwhelmed  and 
the  desire  of  escaping  from  the  questions  to 
which  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  reply  in  an 
appropriate  way. ' ' 

The  art  of  speaking,  as  well  in  family  life  as 
in  social  life,  may  be  the  starting-point  of  much 
success,  and  may  contribute  to  increase  the  con- 
ditions of  happiness. 

It  is,  therefore,  essential  to  cultivate  it  in  chil- 
dren from  the  earliest  age  possible. 

Xanthes  recommends  the  method  of  recitations 
and  there  also  imposes  upon  the  head  of  the 
family  the  part  of  bearer  of  speech. 

''The  father  or  the  patriarch,"  he  says, 
"should  endeavor  to  interest  his  family  by  nar- 
rations which  he  will  have  the  children  repeat, 
taking  care  to  correct  their  unsuitable  expres- 


166         '  SPEECH 

sions  and  initiating  them  into  the  beauties  of  style. 

"He  will  eliminate  vulgar  words,  or  those 
which  define  the  thought  inadequately,  and  will 
try  to  create  in  these  young  minds  thought-pic- 
tures sufficiently  faithful  to  call  forth  the  word 
that  conveys  them, 

"If  this  word  does  not  immediately  suggest 
itself,  he  will  call  it  forth  by  eliminating  all 
other  words  which  are  not  adequate  to  the  idea 
evoked,  always  taking  care  to  hold  the  slender 
attention  within  the  limits  traced  by  the  im- 
portance of  the  idea." 

And  Xanthes,  allowing  the  psychologist  with- 
in him  to  speak,  adds: 

"Many  families  owe  to  the  familiar  eloquence 
of  their  head  union  and  harmony  which  are  the 
most  enviable  gifts  in  the  world. 

"And  when,  one  fine  evening,  passing  before 
houses  concealed  by  the  shadows  of  twilight, 
a  traveler  hears  a  man's  voice  relating  to  his 
attentive  family  some  marvelous  stories  which 
sustain  devotion  to  beauty  and  courage  in  the 
soul,  he  may  stop  suddenly,  lay  down  his  staff, 
and  ask  for  a  place  among  the  listeners ;  he  will 
be  welcomed  as  the  rules  of  hospitality  require, 
for  thither,  where  peace  reigns,  these  two  satel- 
lites gravitate — goodness  and  charity." 


LESSON  XI 

SPEECH  AND  INSTRUCTION 

"After  his  immortal  master  Socrates,  the 
illustrious  Plato,"  says  Xanthes,  "declared  that 
the  purpose  of  instruction  was  to  develop  the 
intelligence  of  men  by  means  of  speech  that 
nothing  written  could  ever  replace. 

"Like  these  two  masters,  Cratylus  and  So- 
crates, he  firmly  believed  that  speech  is  the  most 
authentic  guide  for  the  disciplining  of  man's 
instincts. 

"Aristotle,  like  Plato,  also  declared  the  truth 
of  this  principle,  on  which  rests  the  whole  peri- 
patetic doctrine. 

"And  we  can  not  but  admire  how  profound 
was  his  knowledge  of  the  soul,  since  the  principles 
that  he  inculcated  in  the  minds  of  his  contem- 
poraries differed  in  form,  according  to  the  man- 
ner in  which  he  presented  them  to  all  who  came 
to  hear  him  speak,  or  analyzed  them  with  his 
disciples  under  the  arcades  of  the  Lyceum. 

"The  last  instruction  was  more  profound, 
more  substantial;  it  was  necessary  to  be  versed 

167 


168  SPEECH 

in  the  science  of  philosophy  to  be  able  to  follow 
it  in  all  its  deductions. 

"But  from  the  moment  when  he  addrest 
the  common  people  the  tone  of  his  discourse 
changed;  it  became  more  brilliant,  more  com- 
prehensible ;  pure  science  was  abandoned  to  take 
up  simplified  reasoning,  and  each  one  went  away 
carrying  with  him  provisions  of  this  spiritual 
food,  which,  as  well  as  that  for  the  body,  is  in- 
dispensable to  the  appreciation  of  happiness. 

**  Since  the  time  of  these  illustrious  masters, 
others  have  succeeded  them,  and  those  whose  in- 
struction was  more  productive,  are  absolutely 
the  ones  who  have  been  inspired  by  this  method. 

"To  address  the  crowd,  to  educate  human 
intuitions,  to  teach  men  the  understanding  of 
their  duties,  such  were  the  aspirations  of  all  the 
pastors  of  the  soul, 

"By  being  more  devoted  to  the  study  of  man 
as  a  subjective  being  than  as  an  objective  entity, 
by  spreading  broadcast  through  the  medium  of 
speech  rational  ideas,  orators  have  generated, 
above  all  else,  the  conception  of  the  beautiful, 
of  the  just,  and  of  the  true,  in  the  hearts  of  those 
whom  books  can  never  teach,  since  their  edu- 
cation does  not  permit  them  to  interpret 
thoughts  through  chirographical  signs." 


AND    INSTRUCTION  169 

Altlio  modern  instruction  may  now  be  uni- 
versally propagated,  the  remarks  of  Xanthes 
have  not  lost  any  of  their  truth. 

There  are  yet  many  who  hesitate  before  mak- 
ing the  effort  to  hear  a  lecture  and  yet  consent 
to  come  to  listen  to  an  orator. 

The  success  of  lectures  ought  to  be  attributed 
especially  to  the  indolence  of  the  generality  of 
audiences. 

We  say  ''the  generality"  because  among  the 
number  there  are  those  who  by  listening  to  lec- 
tures seek  only  an  opportunity  of  acquiring 
more  instruction  or  to  verify  their  scientific  at- 
tainments. 

But  the  greater  part  of  the  audiences  is  com- 
posed of  people  who,  if  they  consent  to  listen 
to  dissertations  during  an  hour  on  one  subject 
would  not  understand  how  to  study  it  more  se- 
riously. 

The  lecture  presents  still  another  advantage, 
that  of  eliminating  a  superfluity  of  detail,  only 
mentioning  the  main  facts  or  the  fundamental 
principles  of  that  which  is  to  be  expounded. 

It  gives  to  superficial  minds  the  impression 
of  a  work  all  finished,  of  something  perfected, 
nothing  being  left  but  to  store  the  knowledge. 

Very  few  among  them  consider  the  charm  of 


170  SPEECH 

preparatory  work,  and  there  are  still  fewer  who 
comprehend  the  utility  of  it. 

It  is  none  the  less  true  that  without  lectures 
many  people  would  never  learn  of  things  of 
which,  thanks  to  this  mode  of  instruction,  they 
learn  the  existence,  at  least  in  its  main  outlines. 

And  if,  among  the  audience,  there  is  only  one 
person  in  whom  the  desire  for  instruction  has 
been  awakened,  the  lecturer  may  rejoice  and 
say,  as  did  a  celebrated  man : 

"I  have  not  lost  my  day!" 

"Instruction,"  says  again  the  old  Athenian, 
"always  consists  in  reunions,  where  men  come 
to  take  lessons,  which  are  given  to  them  by  a 
master,  with  whom  the  art  of  speaking  has  al- 
ways been  the  object  of  special  study. 

"Whether  it  adopts  the  form  of  classes,  of  dia- 
logs, or  of  religious  initiation,  instruction  always 
offers  a  vast  field  for  oratorical  demonstrations. 

"Certain  masters,  among  whom  Plato  should 
be  named,  used  to  practise  oral  instruction  under 
the  guise  of  dialogs  between  the  professor  and 
the  pupils.  It  is  by  these  lessons  in  dialog  that 
he  taught  them  that  everything  follows  its  own 
infinite  course,  and  that  by  using  all  his  efforts 
to  separate  general  ideas  from  the  confused  mass 
of  parasitic  ideas,  he  made  them  understand  the 


AND    INSTRUCTION  171 

individual  differences  concealing  themselves  un- 
der the  same  form. 

"Eliciting  their  replies  and  their  objections, 
he  opened  wide  the  door  of  thought  whose  lights 
illumined  the  minds  of  those  who  were  prepared 
to  step  over  the  threshold." 

And  Xanthes  adds  these  prophetic  words : 

"Those  were  the  true  priests  of  the  art  of 
speech,  placed  at  the  disposal  of  creative  thought, 
for  the  great  shadow  of  Socrates  hovered  over 
them,  as  it  still  hovers  over  us,  and  as  it  will 
hover  over  philosophy  for  all  time." 

Many  forms  of  rhetoric  have  passed  out  of 
use,  but  the  art  of  oratory  is  more  than  ever  in 
vogue  at  this  moment. 

Its  supremacy  must  be  attributed  to  the  hur- 
ried life  which  we  lead  and  which  gives  para- 
mount importance  to  oral  instruction,  by  reason 
of  its  relative  rapidity. 

Christianity  has  largely  contributed  to  the 
development  of  eloquence,  and  many  religious 
speakers  can  pass  for  masters  in  oratory. 

It  is  also  an  opportunity  for  instruction  in  a 
philosophy  less  material,  less  free  from  submis- 
sion, but  quite  as  profound  as  that  of  rhetori- 
cians. 

Many  also  are  the  politicians,  whose  speeches 


172  SPEECH 

are  inspired  by  the  defense  of  public  causes, 
and  are  veritable  classes  of  political  teaching. 

With  many  among  them  the  art  of  speech  is 
interpreted  by  an  argumentative  debate,  whose 
concise  arguments  are  prepared  so  that  they  will 
produce  conviction. 

Some  others,  on  the  contrary,  derive  their 
principal  effects  from  the  statement  of  certain 
abuses,  the  recital  of  which  causes  all  the  noble 
sentiments  of  the  heart  to  rise. 

Under  the  impulse  of  the  emotion  which  moves 
them,  eloquence  bursts  forth  spontaneously,  and, 
like  the  contemporaries  of  Xanthes,  whom  the 
love  of  a  noble  cause  brought  to  the  Agora  to 
teach  there,  near  to  the  stone  consecrated  to 
oaths,  respect  for  laws  and  for  property,  our 
political  men  of  to-day  teach  us,  in  a  flow  of 
noble  phrases  and  of  convincing  words,  respect 
for  the  laws  promulgated  by  modern  civiliza- 
tion with  the  idea  of  combating  our  instiucts  and 
curbing  our  appetites. 

But  it  is  not  given  to  every  one  to  manifest 
noble  thoughts  before  an  audience  of  his  own 
quality. 

This  is  what  the  Athenian  orator  foresees 
when   he  says: 

''There  are  other  orators  whose  mission  is  all 


AND    INSTRUCTION  173 

the  more  meritorious  because  it  is  more  obscure, 

"These  latter  do  not  terminate  their  speeches 
amid  the  din  of  applause ;  they  have  no  disciples 
who  go  about  singing  their  praises;  however, 
their  instruction  is  more  valuable  because  it  is 
addrest  to  the  as  yet  unformed  minds  of  chil- 
dren, which,  like  wax,  are  fitted  to  receive  all 
impressions  without  discrimination. 

"We  mean  the  unknown  masters,  who  teach 
little  children  during  their  first  years. 

**A  special  eloquence  is  necessary  for  them. 

"It  is  composed  of  gentleness,  firmness,  and 
unconscious  persuasion. 

"It  should  be  decked  with  flowers  as  a  garden, 
and  solid  as  iron. 

* '  It  has  not  the  right  to  wander  in  the  domain 
of  the  hypothesis,  nor  in  the  seductive  paths  of 
imagination. 

"Effects  are  not  its  lot.  It  does  not  attract 
by  its  brilliancy,  but  by  a  slow  and  minute  at- 
tention to  the  smallest  detail. 

""If  the  orator,  dominating  the  crowd  by  the 
sonority  of  his  phrases  and  the  enthusiasm  of  his 
emotions,  is  sometimes  called  a  leader  of  men, 
the  master  of  children  will  never  be  other  than 
a  shepherd  of  souls. 

"But  what  care  must  be  taken  to  preserve 


174  SPEECH 

these  tender  minds  from  the  approach  of  the 
wild  beasts  who  seek  to  devour  them — hypoc- 
risy, falsehood,  and  treachery. 

"Even  gentle  illusion  should  be  included 
among  the  number  of  enemies  which  should  be 
banished. 

"It  is  because  of  having  esteemed  it  too 
highly  that  so  many  young  people,  when  reach- 
ing the  age  of  manhood,  belittle  life,  having  re- 
fused to  recognize  its  realities,  absorbed  as  they 
have  been  in  the  false  smile  of  illusion,  which, 
at  the  moment  when  they  thought  to  seize  it, 
disappeared  while  calling  to  them  to  follow  it." 

Things  have  changed  very  little  since  the  far 
distant  epoch  of  which  the  Athenian  philosopher 
speaks. 

In  our  day  the  task  of  the  teacher,  everywhere 
thankless,  still  is  called  that  of  a  shepherd  of 
souls. 

The  appetite  for  living  which  produces  so 
many  fine  and  strong  resolutions  can  be  a  de- 
testable counsellor,  if  from  infancy  a  rational 
and  persuasive  instruction  has  not  penetrated 
these  young  souls,  demonstrating  to  them  the 
principles  of  good  and  justice  in  opposition  to 
other  ideas,  whose  brilliancy  masks  profound 
perfidy. 


AND    INSTRUCTION  175 

This  is  why  those  who  direct  children  ought 
to  be  versed  in  the  art  of  speech. 

He  alone  will  know  how  to  inspire  the  words 
proper  to  sow  in  young  souls  the  idea  endowed 
with  creative  power,  first  in  the  form  of  nar- 
rations, then  of  counsels,  and,  finally,  of  instruc- 
tion, otherwise  conviction,  generated  by  all  the 
means  which  speech  suggests  to  those  who  have 
devoted  themselves  to  this  art.     . 


LESSON   XII 

THE    POWER    OF    THE    VOICE    OVER 
THE  FEELINGS 

Since  the  most  ancient  times  the  part  played 
by  the  orator  has  been  equally  important  in  the 
organization  of  society  and  in  family  life. 

All  generous  acts  and  all  heroic  actions  have 
been  inspired  by  discourses, 

"It  was  Solon,"  says  Xanthes,  ''who,  scorn- 
ing the  menace  of  death  threatening  all  the  de- 
fenders of  Salamis,  mounted  the  stone  of  pro- 
clamations, demonstrating  to  the  people  what 
would  be  the  shame  of  him  of  whom  it  could 
be  said  later,  'This  is  a  man  of  Attica  who  has 
deserted  Salamis!' 

"His  oratory  aroused  the  enthusiasm  of  the 
Athenian  youth,  who  rose  crying:  'Let  us  go  to 
reconquer  Salamis!' 

*'The  decree  containing  the  menace  of  death 
was  repealed,  and  the  Athenians  were  able  to 
win  back  Salamis  from  the  Megarians,  who  had 
taken  it  away  from  them. ' 

History  is  rich  in  examples  of  this  kind. 

176 


POWER    OF    THE    VOICE         177 

Since  the  beginning  of  our  era  men  have  ap- 
peared who  by  virtue  of  speech  have  engendered 
formidable  resolutions. 

The  prophets  have  had  unlimited  power  over 
the  masses,  and  their  predictions  have  often  re- 
versed Fate. 

The  propagation  of  Christian  teaching  and 
the  various  activities  which  have  resulted  from 
it — are  they  due  to  any  other  influence  than 
that  of  speech? 

It  was  by  virtue  of  his  discourses  that  Mo- 
hammed, the  young,  obscure  Arabian,  taught 
first  to  his  kinsmen,  then  his  disciples,  afterward 
to  the  faithful,  and  lastly  the  masses,  the  be- 
lief in  a  doctrine  which  responded  to  their  as- 
pirations. 

It  is  even  now  cradled  in  the  magic  of  words, 
evoking  seductive  ideas,  that  the  Mussulmans, 
in  the  cafes  or  public  halls,  squat  for  hours  to 
listen  to  a  teller  of  stories. 

According  to  the  teachings  of  this  great  leader 
of  souls,  as  Mohammed  was,  he  promises  to  these 
wanderers  of  the  burning  desert  a  future  life 
peopled  with  refreshing  visions ;  at  the  sound  of 
his  words  the  springs  sing,  the  exuberant  foliage 
of  the  spreading  branches  casts  its  shadows, 
beds  made  of  silken  stuffs  make  them  forget  the 


178  SPEECH 

dryness  of  the  matting  on  which  they  are  actually 
lying,  and,  to  gain  these  miracles  of  the  here- 
after, they  are,  as  were  their  far-away  ancestors, 
ready  to  rise  in  a  mass  and  to  run  in  the  face 
of  death,  which  alone  can  place  them  in  pos- 
session of  them. 

The  epic  poem  of  the  Crusaders,  had  it  any 
other  origin  than  the  cry  of  a  monk  coming  at 
the  close  of  a  discourse,  in  which  the  will  of 
the  Almighty  was  affirmed  in  a  concise  and 
definite  phrase? 

How  much  blood  these  three  words  caused 
to  be  shed!  How  many  noble  deeds  they  insti- 
gated!    How  much  devotion  is  due  to  them! 

How  many  efforts  have  been  successful  by 
virtue  of  their  power ! 

And  in  contemporary  life  do  we  not  all  the  time 
assist  in  the  triumph  of  speech  ? 

Take  a  lawyer  who  knows  how  to  influence 
the  judges  to  the  extent  of  dragging  from  them 
an  acquittal,  when,  in  spite  of  all  the  proofs  of 
guilt,  he  has  been  able  to  sow  the  seeds  of  doubt 
in  their  minds. 

At  times,  however,  uncertainty  can  not  be 
produced;  then,  at  the  passionate  appeal  of  the 
defender,  pity  arises  and  holds  out  its  hands  to 
«lasp  those  whose  mission  is  to  punish. 


POWER    OF    THE    VOICE         17^ 

Immediately,  another  doubt  enters  their 
mind:  Have  they  the  right  to  be  severe? 

This  guilty  one  whom  they  are  going  to  strike, 
is  he  not  himself  a  victim  ?  If  the  same  fate  had 
caused  them  to  be  born  in  the  same  destitution, 
would  they  have  been  better  than  he? 

Under  the  dominating  influence  of  this  reas- 
oning, the  agony  of  a  moral  injustice  restrains 
them;  their  hearts  melt,  and  the  revengeful 
punishment  is  changed  into  a  restraint  which 
may  become  a  redemption. 

''Speech,"  says  Xanthes  again,  "is  like  the 
seed  which  is  confided  to  the  earth. 

"It  adopts  divers  forms  of  germination,  but 
it  always  sprouts. 

**  Sometimes,  as  with  the  seed  sleeping  during 
all  the  bad  season  that  it  may  bear  fruit  only 
in  the  spring,  so  is  speech  sleeping  in  the  heart 
of  man  as  if  it  had  not  been  pronounced;  but, 
like  the  seed,  it  germinates  slowly  and  soon  ap- 
pears, thanks  to  the  favorable  fertilization  of 
eloquence,  under  the  form  of  an  action  or  of 
an  idea  which  are  its  progeny. 

"In  olden  times  a  word  sufficed  to  make  a 
resolution  burst  forth  and  to  let  loose  an  effec- 
tive ardor  which  was  resolved  into  spontaneous 
determination. 


180  SPEECH 

"But  speech  is  never  sterile.  It  is  sometimes 
productive  of  reprehensible  actions. 

"There  lies  the  reason  why  the  office  of  the 
orator  is  one  of  the  most  magnificent  that  one 
can  wish  to  fill. 

"As  they  wish,  rye-grass  or  good  grain  may 
grow  in  the  fields  where  they  sow  their  seed, 

"As  they  wish,  also,  souls  are  closed  to  evil 
sentiments  or  are  opened  to  dangerous  coun- 
sels, for  the  orator  is  not  only  a  dispenser  of 
words,  he  is  equally  a  generator  of  ideas. 

* '  It  is  he  who  is  responsible  not  only  for  mak- 
ing them  bloom,  but  also  for  modifying  their 
growth  and  determining  their  species. 

"It  is  under  the  influence  of  sound  words 
that  the  supremacy  of  the  passions  is  diminished, 
giving  place  to  reason,  which  puts  to  flight  un- 
healthy suggestions  and  permits  charitable 
thoughts  to  be  developed." 

And  the  philosopher  demonstrates  to  us  the 
truth  of  his  assertions  when  he  says: 

"From  infancy,  man  is  subject  to  the  influ- 
ence of  speech. 

"The  remonstrances  and  the  exhortations  of 
parents,  the  stories  with  which  our  tender  years 
are  beguiled,  can  have  considerable  bearing  on 
the  trend  of  our  life 


POWER    OF    THE    VOICE         181 

"Certain  men  maintain  an  attitude  of  fear 
throughout  their  existence  as  a  result  of  the 
reproaches  with  which  they  were  crusht  on 
every  occasion  from  the  earliest  age. 

' '  Others,  on  the  contrary,  are  able  to  estimate 
their  own  worth,  because  the  just  observations 
and  the  approbation  of  their  instructors  has  in- 
culcated faith  in  them. 

"There  are  those  who  remember  their  nurse's 
stories  so  vividly  that,  altho  growing  up  strong 
and  sensible,  they  can  not  efface  from  their 
thoughts  the  visions  of  fantoms,  whose  existence, 
nevertheless,  their  reason  denies. 

"With  certain  others  we  observe  the  growth 
of  opposite  mental  qualities  arising  from  the 
contradictory  doctrines  which  the  lessons  of 
various  teachers  have  instilled  in  them. 

""We  see  weak  minds  become  enthusiastic  un- 
der the  beneficial  influence  of  an  energetic  dis- 
course, and,  bathed  in  the  flow  of  impressions 
accelerating  the  transformation  of  thought, 
change  into  heroes  whom  posterity  admires." 

We  must,  then,  conclude  with  Xanthes  that 
at  every  age  speech  is  the  element  determining 
actions,  whether  it  be  addrest  to  the  indi- 
vidual soul  or  whether  it  stir  the  soul  of  so- 
ciety which  sleeps  in  each  one  of  us. 


182  SPEECH 

It  is  the  most  active  factor  of  happiness ;  it  is 
also  the  surest  agent  of  adversity,  for  according 
to  the  turn  which  advice  gives  to  our  resolutions 
they  may  become  subjects  of  joy  or  a  source  of 
regret  as  poignant  as  useless. 

There  is  another  influence  which  the  wise 
Xanthes  points  out  to  us  with  the  delicacy  of 
sentiments  which  renders  so  attractive  the  doc- 
trine of  this  exact  thinker: 

"The  need  of  creating  sympathy,"  he  says, 
"inspires  all  men  with  words  which  adopt  the 
form  of  their  aspirations. 

"Strong  and  well-balanced,  solid  and  cordial, 
when  they  interpret  friendship  they  become 
apathetic  or  ardent,  seductive  flatterers,  and 
tender,  elevated,  or  agitated  if  they  msh  to 
evoke  love. 

"Are  they  always  sincere? 

"Alas!  falsehood  is  the  worm  which  slips  too 
easily  into  the  golden  apple  of  eloquence. 

"There  is,  however,  a  sure  way  of  never 
being  the  victim  of  its  ravages ;  that  is,  to  work 
oneself  in  order  to  produce  perfect  fruits,  whose 
delicate  flavor  and  subtle  perfume  will  be  united 
to  qualities  more  substantial  and  more  nutri- 
tious. 

"It  is  not  sufficient  to  think  of  nourishment 


POW^R    OF    THE    VOICE         183 

for  the  body;  that  of  the  soul  ought  to  be 
specially  cultivated ;  and  an  orator  should  never 
forget  that,  if  the  flowers  usually  precede  the 
fruit,  there  are  certain  trees,  in  great  demand, 
which  have  resplendent  bulbs,  together  with 
calices  whose  beauty  of  form,  vies  with  that  of 
their  perfume. 


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